The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began
by Sky EXE
Summary: AU. The war between the Neuroi and humanity. How did it begin? Did the Neuroi really invade without warning? Or is there a different reason behind their attack? This is my take on the Strike Witches anime with a twist. Note: in this fic, the ancient Neiroi War and the 1st Neuroi War never happened. NO FLAMES! If you don't like it, why are you reading it in the first place?
1. Chapter 1

The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 1: Prologue

**Secret Laboratory, Location Unknown**

In the deepest part of the lab was a girl who looked to be at the age of 17. She had brown hair and hazel eyes, and had two blue, crystal-like animal ears on her head. Her clothes were torn in several places, but what was left gave off an air of royalty. The remains of her dress had a black hexagon pattern on it, and on her legs were the remains of a Neuroi Striker Unit. She was suspended onto a wall, with solid steel clamps attached to her arms, legs and abdomen. Wires from lab machines were attached to her body in painful ways, which sometimes sent a powerful electric shock through her body. This girl is none other than Yoshika, the Queen of the Neuroi.

'_How long…?'_ Yoshika thought. _'How long have I been here? Are Dr. Miyafuji and his family alright?'_ the Neuroi Queen thought to herself.

The Queen had discovered the planet Earth during her travels. She went to the surface of the planet, hoping to form an alliance with the inhabitants. Landing on the island country of Fuso, Yoshika began to look for any famous individuals. While searching, she stumbled upon the Miyafuji Clinic. On a whim, the Queen scanned the minds of the inhabitants that lived in the clinic, one of which caught her interest. A man known as Dr. Miyafuji was trying to find a way to create an engine that used magic, something that only a few females on the planet have, as a power source.

Yoshika quickly got along with Dr. Miyafuji as well as the rest of the Miyafuji family. When she revealed herself as the Queen of the Neuroi seeking to form an alliance with friendly sentient beings, the family was shocked. During the first month of her stay with the Miyafuji family, Yoshika was a huge help to Dr. Miyafuji with the development of the Striker Unit. When the Queen learned about the power source, she made some modifications to the design. She added a small compartment on each Striker Unit that can hold a small Neuroi Core, which serves as a back-up power source should a Witch exhaust her magic supply, along with a Neuroi Energy Converter to convert the Neuroi Energy into Magical Power.

It was during the second month of her stay when disaster struck. While working out the details of the alliance, Yoshika and the Miyafuji family were caught in a surprise attack on the clinic led by General Maloney, who then captured Yoshika and killed the Miyafuji family. Luckily, the plans for the Striker Units were already being developed by researchers and the plans still had the small compartment and the Neuroi Energy Converter, but the researchers just assumed that Dr. Miyafuji wasn't able to finish the plans before his supposed "disappearance".

During the surprise attack, Yoshika managed to send a call for help to the other Neuroi before she was captured, and is now waiting for them to come to her rescue. _'How much longer until I can escape from this place? Are the other Neuroi even coming…?'_ she thought to herself, but then screamed in pain as the wires sent a powerful electric shock through her body. When the electricity stopped, she slumped over as far as her restraints let her. _'Somebody… please save me…'_ she thought before blacking out.


	2. Chapter 2

The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 2: Mei

Ten Witches were currently flying out on an intercept course. The lead Witch, Mio Sakamoto, lifted up her eye patch to reveal her purple Magic Eye, which saw a red flash in the distance. "Sighted! Upper right, 15,000! In the clouds!" Mio reported. "Right!" said Minna "All units, stand by to intercept enemy Neuroi in Formation Bravo!"

The Witches flew above the Neuroi. "Commence attack!" Minna ordered. Sanya fired the first salvo, consisting of four rockets. The Neuroi fired two green beams, shooting down the rockets, but was unprepared for a high-explosive round fired from Lynne. More Witches flew in, pounding the Neuroi with machine gun fire, making it screech in pain. When the barrage ended, the Neuroi's unusually green Core was exposed. Seeing the chance, Mio threw away her now empty gun and drew out her sword. With a war-cry, Mio descended upon the Neuroi with her blade held above her head, swinging it down on the Core. The Core was destroyed, causing the Neuroi to shatter into white flakes. Satisfied, Mio sheathed her sword and turned back to base, the other Witches following her.

No one noticed that a tiny fragment of the Neuroi's Core survived, which flew off into the distance.

* * *

The school day was just ending at Fuso Empire Yokosuka Girls Middle School #4, and a group of girls were looking up worriedly. "Mei," Michiko yelled "That's dangerous!" Above them in a tree was a girl who had knee-length brown hair and green eyes and was wearing a pendant with a strange symbol on it was crawling towards a cat. "I-I'm fine!" Mei said "I'll manage somehow… I _will_ rescue it!" Mei continued to crawl closer to the cat. "It's okay! You're safe now!" said Mei when she reached the cat.

* * *

"She really scolded you" said Michiko once Mei came back out of the school building. "But I really wanted to save that kitty!" Mei replied. "Michiko!" the two heard from a distance. The duo looked to their right to see an old man riding on a tractor, waving at them.

Mei and Michiko were riding in the back of the tractor when they looked towards the harbor. "Is that the warship that just arrived?" Michiko asked. Mei narrowed her eyes dangerously at the word "war". Michiko cursed to herself; she forgot that Mei lost her family to a warmonger. Michiko was the only one that knew who Mei really was; Mei Miyafuji, the last survivor of the Miyafuji family.

* * *

"Her?" asked a man who was looking through a pair of binoculars. "Yes" his companion replied "That's Mei. Just Mei"

"She seems like an ordinary schoolgirl, if you ask me" said the man.

"She's very average in terms of academic achievements, but is possibly the best in the entire world in terms of fitness. I dare say she might be faster than Shirley"

"Say what?" the man asked his companion, who was Mio Sakamoto, in complete shock. Shirley is the fastest Witch in the 501st, and to hear that someone was even faster than her was unbelievable.

"Wait, there's more" Mio continued, looking at Mei's info "It says here that her best skill is…survival? That doesn't make sense. Shouldn't Mei be staying at an orphanage since her family was killed?" Mio asked with shock on her face.

"Who was her family?" asked the man.

"That's odd; it doesn't say that anywhere on here…" Mio trailed off, a confused expression on her face.

"What shall we do, Major Sakamoto?" the man asked.

"Good question…" Mio replied.

* * *

Back with the two girls and the old man, a raccoon suddenly wandered in front of the tractor. The old man turned sharply, causing Michiko to fall off.

"Michiko!" Mei heard the old man cry out. Looking down a hill, Mei saw Michiko lying on her side holding her chest in pain.

"MICHIKO!" Mei shouted, running up to her. Laying Michiko on her back, Mei saw a lot of blood soaked into her shirt. Thinking quickly, Mei tore off Michiko's shirt and placed her hands on Michiko's wound. Suddenly, Mei's hands started to glow blue. Closing her eyes in concentration Mei's animal features popped out signifying her as a Witch as she focused her magic into healing Michiko's wound. As she concentrated, the blue glow rapidly became brighter.

Arriving at the scene, Mio and her companion looked at where Mei was healing Michiko. "What is that?" the man asked.

"Healing magic, and it's quite powerful, too!" Mio answered.

* * *

**Timeskip- That Night**

Mei was in the woods, thinking of Mio's offer. If she went with Mio, then she would be one step closer to finding the warmonger that killed her family. And where that warmonger was, Yoshika was bound to be close as well. But if she didn't go with Mio, then she'd have more time to train. Mei wasn't stupid however; she knew that this would be the only opportunity that she would have, and she wasn't going to let it go to waste.

Suddenly, a bush rustled, catching Mei's attention. A small, floating green shard came out and floated over to her. "Any luck?" Mei asked the shard. **"None"** said the shard **"The other Pure Neuroi aren't having much luck either"** At this point it would be safe to say that Mei can understand all Neuroi perfectly, both Pure and Corrupt, thanks to Yoshika teaching her. Also, Mei's pendant bared the crest of the Neuroi Queen, letting other Neuroi know that she is one of the Queen's most trusted people. The shard was actually the surviving fragment of a Neuroi Core that Mio had previously destroyed.

"I see…" Mei replied, walking over to another bush. She brushed aside the limbs to reveal a Striker Unit that she custom built herself after stealing several other Striker Units from a nearby base. Reaching down, Mei opened up a small compartment on one of the leg mounts, revealing several other green Core fragments from other Pure Neuroi. "Get in here" Mei said to the fragment, which floated into the compartment. "Don't worry" she reassured "I've placed several wards that will prevent others from sensing your presence, and I've also made sure that anyone with a Magic Eye can't see you either"

"**Thank you"** said the fragment.

Closing the compartment, Mei reached into a third bush, and pulled out her most trusted weapon, a magic scythe. "Don't worry, Yoshika" Mei said to herself "I'll come rescue you, even if it's the last thing I do…"


	3. Chapter 3

The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 3: Joining the 501st

At the harbor, Mio was leaning on her sword when she heard two sets of feet walking toward her. Looking up, Mio smiled upon seeing Mei, but that smile quickly turned into a confused look upon seeing Michiko with her. Michiko was carrying a suitcase and was wearing her school uniform. When Mio took a closer look at Mei, she did a massive spit-take.

Mei seemed to be wearing clothes that were made completely out of leaves and vines woven together in such a way that it was virtually impossible to rip them. On her back was a magic scythe with a green blade that was glowing with power **(A/N: From now on, this is going to be Mei's default appearance)**. The thing that took Mio completely off-guard was that Mei was carrying her own Striker Unit, a model that she has never seen before.

"So you came! I'm glad to see you've decided!" Mio said after recomposing herself "I take it you've decided to make use of your power?"

"Let's just go." Mei said in an emotionless voice, surprising Mio. Mei said nothing else as she walked past Mio calmly, heading for the carrier _Akagi_.

"Why are you here?" Mio asked Michiko.

"Michiko is the only human I trust," Mei answered without looking back "Wherever I go, she comes as well. We already got permission from her family, so get your rear end over here and let's go already!"

* * *

The sun was beginning to set on the first day on the _Akagi_, and Mei was on the deck gazing in the direction of Fuso with Michiko, a blank look on her face. Hearing footsteps, the two turned around to face Mio. "So, how do you like being on the _Akagi_?" Mio asked.

"It's… okay, I guess." Mei replied.

"It's really nice!" replied Michiko.

"That's good." said Mio "But this is the only thing you'll find pleasant. I'm sure you two know what's happening in Britannia as we speak. It's on the very front lines of our battle with the Neurois, who've conquered the continent."

* * *

**One month later…**

"So, what kind of Striker Unit do you have?" Mio asked Mei while walking to the hangar.

"I built it myself" Mei said, catching Mio by complete surprise. But Mei wasn't done talking yet "…after I stole several other Striker Units from a base near the woods where I lived. The reason was because my magical power is too great for a normal Striker Unit to handle, so I had to make my own custom model. I call it… the F-86 Sabre, and it's a Jet Striker." Mei finished.

**(A/N #2: I don't own the F-86 Sabre)**

**(A/N #3: Yeah, you read right. The F-86 Sabre is my favorite First-Generation jet fighter. Got a problem with it? Shove it up your ass)**

Mio was astounded with what she was hearing. Mei snuck into a high-security base, stole several Striker Units without getting caught, and used the parts from those Strikers to build a _Jet Striker_, something that the top researchers are still having problems with. With this girl's genius, she should be _making_ Strikers, not flying them!

"Would you like to see a demonstration?" Mei asked, snapping Mio out of her shock.

"Umm, sure." Mio said, unable to think of anything else to say.

Hopping into her Striker, Mei started it up while Mio activated the central elevator. Once on the flight deck, Mei increased the power of her Strikers, causing the engines to roar to life. "Mei, taking off!" Mei exclaimed as she sped down the flight deck. Reaching the end, she pulled up, soaring into the sky. "Increasing power output to 50%." Mei said as her speed increased even further. Looking at Mei's current airspeed, Mio was astounded; Mei was flying at 750KMH, and she was only going at 50% power!

"Just how fast can you go?" asked Mio incredulously. Mei smiled to herself; she was going to make Mio regret asking that.

"All you had to do was ask nice." Mei said. "Increasing power output to 100%!" Pushing her full power into the Sabre, Mei shot off like a rocket.

Mio looked at Mei's airspeed skyrocket, shooting past 1000KMH with no sign of slowing down. _'Dear, Lord'_ Mio thought to herself _'If this keeps up, then she's going to...'_ Mio's thoughts were abruptly cut off by a loud boom.

"Sound barrier, broken." Mei said in an even voice.

Mio was left gaping like a fish.

* * *

**At the 501****st**** JFW Base near Britannia**

Shirley felt a shudder go down her spine.

"Shirley, what's wrong?" asked Luchinni.

"I just had a feeling that someone just beat me at being the first to reach Mach 1 and break the sound barrier." Shirley said with a little fear in her voice.

"You're just imagining things." Luchinni reassured.

Later, Luchinni was going to eat those words, she just didn't know it yet.

Hearing the sound of engines, the two looked up to see Sanya and Eila return from their night patrol.

"Hi! Welcome back!" Shirley said to them. Looking to her left, she saw Perrine standing there.

"As usual, you two have no sense of tension whatsoever." Perrine said to Shirley and Luchinni "Look at you dressed like that, we're on standby for battle, you know!"

"So? The lieutenant colonel gave us permission, and the analysis team says the enemy won't be here for 20 more hours!" Shirley exclaimed.

"Honestly, now Major Sakamoto will be returning any time now! When she does, the first thing I'm going to do is offer her my opinion about the slack behavior of both of you!" Perrine fumed.

"Whoa, what a tattletale!" Shirley complained.

"Especially for such a flatty!" Luchinni said, waving her hand in a "Shoo!" gesture.

"Be quiet! As if you're anyone to talk, anyway!" Perrine yelled.

But before she could say anything else, the Neuroi alarm sounded. "The enemy?" asked Shirley.

"It can't be!" said Perrine "It's too soon!"

* * *

Back at the carrier _Akagi_, it has been 2 hours since Mei's demonstration. "You know," Mei said to Mio while she, Mio and Michiko were standing on the flight deck "I'm actually a record breaker on my own accord."

"Yeah, how so?" Mio asked.

"I have another name. One that I'm sure you're familiar with." Mei said. "It's... 'The Woodland Reaper'."

Mio paled; "The Woodland Reaper" was known for destroying ten Neuroi that snuck into Fuso in less than 15 minutes, using only a scythe and a single leg-mounted Striker, with no other Witches helping her. This also gave her two other names; "The One-Engine Wonder", and "The One-Witch Armada".

"YOU'RE THE WOODLAND REAPER?" Mio shouted, shocking everyone in hearing range except Michiko; she already knew everything about Mei, and has even met Yoshika a few times before her capture.

"Hold that thought." Mei said. "Something's coming from dead ahead. It's…" Mei's eyes widened as she grabbed Michiko by the wrist and dragged her to the hangar deck, running at maximum speed.

* * *

In the hangar deck, Mei was still dragging Michiko along "What is it?" Michiko asked.

"A Corrupt Neuroi is inbound from dead ahead." Mei told her, making Michiko's eyes widen. "You're going to have your first lesson on being a Witch in the heat of battle. Think you can handle that?" Mei asked her while hopping into her F-86 Sabre Striker Unit.

"You know as well as I do that I want to help rescue Yoshika in any way I can, so of course I'm ready!" Michiko answered back while hopping into a spare Striker Unit.

"Good answer!" Mei said as she got the central elevator operating.

* * *

Back up on the flight deck, Mio was wondering what Mei was talking about when she sensed something coming from dead ahead. Running forward, she lifted up her eye patch to reveal her Magic Eye, and looked into the distance. Confirming her suspicions and explaining Mei's earlier actions, Mio saw a Neuroi inbound. "Battle stations!" Mio yelled/ordered as the _Akagi_'s Neuroi alarm sounded. "12 o'clock! Distance of 4,000!" Mio yelled as she gave the position of the enemy Neuroi. The _Akagi_'s cannons fired two shells at the location that Mio specified, which was in the clouds. Before the shells could hit however, the Neuroi fired a beam that vaporized the two shells, revealing its position as the beam continued its sweep through the water, cutting a nearby destroyer in two.

Hearing something, Mio looked over to her left to see Mei and Michiko riding up the central elevator, both of them wearing Striker Units. "What are you waiting for?" Mei shouted to Mio "Get your ass in gear! MOVE IT! A Corrupt Neuroi won't wait for you to make the first move! Hurry up and launch already!" By this time, both Mei and Michiko have taken off, leaving Mio to her thoughts.

'_Corrupt Neuroi? What is she talking about?'_ Shaking her head, Mio ran off to the hangar deck to get her own Striker Unit.

* * *

"All ships, maintain heading and take evasive action!" the _Akagi_'s captain ordered "I repeat, all ships…!"

The Neuroi fired more beams at a ship, all of them missing due to the ship's evasive maneuvers.

"Why isn't that bastard attacking us all at once?" the captain asked.

"Perhaps it's toying with us?" a lieutenant replied.

"Prepare all fighter planes for launch!" the captain ordered "We're going to teach it the meaning of "a cornered rat will bite the cat"!"

"Yes, sir!" the lieutenant answered.

* * *

Up in the air, Mei was teaching Michiko how to fly a Striker Unit, well, on the fly, while protecting her from the Corrupt Neuroi's attacks. "Damn it!" Mei curse as she blocked another barrage of beams.

"**What's wrong, little girl? Too scared to fight back?"** the Corrupt Neuroi taunted. Mei understood the Corrupt Neuroi perfectly, but to anyone else it just sounded like a screech.

* * *

Down on the _Akagi_, the captain was giving orders. "Cease anti-aircraft fire! Stop evasive maneuvers! All hands, prepare to launch fighters!" the captain ordered.

On the flight deck, Mio, in her Striker Unit, was waiting for the right time to launch as the Neuroi flew overhead, firing beams at Mei and Michiko. Once the Neuroi passed, Mio activated her Striker Unit. "Sakamoto Mio, taking off!" Mio said as she sped down the flight deck, pulling up as she reached the end. The rest of the fighters followed suit.

The Neuroi fired more beams, inflicting heavy damage on a nearby ship. "Major damage to the Yukikaze! They're not responding!" a crewmember reported.

"Never mind that! Launch all fighters at once!" the captain ordered.

* * *

"The only way to beat a Neuroi is to destroy its Core. All fighters, disrupt its attacks while searching for the Core!" Mio ordered. "I'm going to circle above it!"

"Roger!" the fighter pilots responded, breaking off and flying upward.

The Neuroi fired more beams at Mio, all of them hitting the water. Mio flew upwards, past the Neuroi. "Nothing up top!" Mio noted, attempting to lift up her eye patch. Before she could though, the Neuroi fired several beams at her, forcing her to put up a shield. "It's almost like a hedgehog," Mio said "It won't be easy to look for the Core like this!"

"Message from Britannia!" a crewmember said "501st Joint Fighter Wing has launched and is on its way! ETA, 20 minutes!"

"We're almost to our destination!" the captain said "We must continue to hang on!"

"What took you so long?" Mei asked Mio "I can't fight a Corrupt Neuroi and teach Michiko how to fly and fight at the same time!"

"When we get back, you better tell me what you mean by a 'Corrupt Neuroi', you hear me?" Mio ordered.

"Yeah, yeah. As soon as we rendezvous with the rest of the 501st. I don't want to explain it twice." Mei said.

"Fine," Mio replied "But I want answers!"

At this time, the Corrupt Neuroi fired a beam at a ship, scoring a direct hit. "The Isokaze has been hit!" a lieutenant on the _Akagi_ yelled.

Running out of ammo for her Type 99 Aircraft Cannon, Mio tossed aside her gun in favor of her sword. "Your fight's with me!" Mio exclaimed as she rushed the Neuroi, slicing off its wing. To the fleet's dismay, the wing regenerated, but Mio used this chance to lift up her eye patch and reveal her Magic Eye, finding the Core at the base of the Neuroi's tail. "Found it!" Mio said.

The Neuroi, sensing that its Core has been found, fired more beams at Mio, forcing her to throw up her shield again. "Mei! The Core's at the base of the tail!" Mio told Mei.

"Roger that." Mei acknowledged "Michiko, concentrate your fire at the base of the Corrupt Neuroi's tail!" Mei said to Michiko.

"On it!" Michiko replied as she focused her fire at the specified area, dodging the Corrupt Neuroi's beams, and bringing up her shield to block the ones that she couldn't dodge.

Mei had had enough of this. "ENOUGH!" Mei roared, pulling out her scythe. She flew up to the Corrupt Neuroi, breaking the sound barrier as she gathered magic into her scythe. "TAKE THIS! REPPUZAN!"

'_She knows the Reppuzan?'_ Mio thought to herself as she saw Mei unleash the blade spell at the Neuroi, slicing it and its Core in two, causing it to shatter.

"That was interesting." Mei commented, but then suddenly tensed as she sensed several contacts approaching from the direction of Britannia. Unsure if the new contacts were friendly or hostile, Mei flew into the clouds, leaving Michiko with Mio.

"Why did she do that?" Mio asked.

"Mei must have sensed something heading this way." Michiko answered. She was proven right when the captain of the _Akagi_ said "Reinforcements from the 501st Joint Fighter Wing have arrived."

"A little too late, though…" Michiko said, looking in the direction of Britannia to see the rest of the 501st before promptly passing out due to magic exhaustion.

Mio caught Michiko before she could fall to the ocean, and turned to face the other Witches.

When Perrine saw Mio carrying Michiko, she lost it. "Wh-What is that girl doing there?" Perrine asked/yelled. Flying up to Mio as fast as she could, Perrine smacked Michiko away from Mio, letting her fall into the ocean.

BIG mistake.

"PERRINE!" Mio screamed "What do you think you're doing?"

"She was touching you!" Perrine said, confused as to why Mio was yelling at her.

The other Witches of the 501st were surprised by Perrine's actions, even Trude. Luchinni, thinking quickly, flew down and caught Michiko in her arms a mere 100 feet above the water.

Michiko woke up, not sure who the girl that was carrying her was, or why her head was hurting. When she looked down, Michiko found herself _very_ uncomfortable that the two were only 100 feet above the water.

* * *

Up in the clouds, Mei was _**BEYOND**_ pissed. Seeing Michiko get smacked out of Mio's arms was the last straw. _'That BITCH! How dare she?'_ Mei thought to herself. _**'Shall I take care of her?'**_ a dark, heartless voice asked from within Mei's head. _'Go ahead. Just don't kill her. We need her alive for now.'_ Mei thought as she let Aki, her darker personality, take over her body. _'Kick her ass, Aki!'_ Mei yelled from her mind. _**'With pleasure.'**_ Aki replied.

* * *

Michiko suddenly felt like somebody stabbed her in the heart. "Oh no…" Michiko said.

"What is it?" Luchinni asked.

"This feeling… I haven't felt it since…!" Michiko's eyes suddenly widened. "MIO! Get out of there!" she yelled through her intercom "Mei's gone berserk!"

This was the only warning that Mio got before all the Witches felt a chill go down their spines.

"**You..."** a dark, ominous voice said from the clouds **"You dare..."**

"Whose voice is that?" asked Luchinni.

"It's Mei's darker self..." Michiko said, a hint of panic in her voice.

"Care to repeat that?" Mio asked.

"Mei wasn't always like this..." Michiko continued "she used to be the sweetest girl in the whole world."

"What caused her to change?" Mio asked.

"Her family's murder." Michiko answered.

Trude paled; it was true that Chris, Trude's little sister, is in a coma, but at least Chris is still alive. To think life without Chris... Trude couldn't think about that.

"It's Mei's darker self... Aki!" Michiko exclaimed.

"**YOU DARE ATTACK MICHIKO?"** the dark voice boomed, the source flying down from the clouds straight at Perrine, breaking the sound barrier.

"Get out of there, NOW!" Michiko screamed.

Mio and Perrine dodged to the left in pure instinct, a figure flying through where they were previously at. Mio got a good look at the figure and gasped; it looked just like Mei, only that her eyes were black and the scythe's blade was purple. "Mei, is that you?" Mio asked.

"**No,"** 'Mei' replied **"I am her darker personality. My name is Aki. Now move over, I've going to kick the ass of the blonde with the glasses."** Aki said as she charged Perrine, scythe ready to slice off one of her arms. Before she could though, Aki winced. **"Damnnit, not now! Out of all the times to run out of magical power..."** Aki said as she switched places back with Mei, her eyes and scythe blade turning back to their normal color. Mei was panting in exhaustion, but was still able to fly. "Blondie," Mei growled to Perrine "When we get back to base, I'm kicking your ass!"

Perrine gulped, as all the Witches flew back to base, Mio, Michiko and Mei following them.


	4. Chapter 4

The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 4: High-Speed Shootout

Mei's eyes shot open, scanning her surroundings. "That's right," Mei said to herself after seeing that she was in the woods of the base "I joined the Witches…"

* * *

In the briefing room sat all of the Witches of the 501st, along with one of the two new members. Commander Minna walked up to the front of the room, with Michiko in tow. Perrine, upon seeing Michiko, suddenly tensed and darted her eyes left and right, looking for any signs of Mei's presence. Minna clapped her hands twice to gain the attention of the other Witches. "Okay, everyone!" Minna said "Your attention, please! Let me introduce you again to our newest member as of today! This is Yamakawa Michiko, one of the two girls Major Sakamoto brought from the Fuso Empire!"

"I'm Yamakawa Michiko! It's a pleasure to meet you all!" Michiko introduced herself.

"She'll have the same rank of sergeant as you, Lynne, so look after her, okay?"

"O-Okay." Lynne said shyly.

"Wait a minute," a girl said. Shirley, if Michiko remembered right "You said 'one of the two', so where's the other one?" Shirley asked.

"Knowing her as well as I do…" Michiko said, gaining the attention of everyone in the room "She's out hunting right now."

"Hunting?" Luchinni asked "What do you mean?"

"You really weren't kidding when you said she lived off the land." Mio said, shocking the other Witches.

"No, she was not." A new voice said from the doorway, a voice that caused Perrine to pale. Looking over to the doorway, all the Witches took in Mei's appearance. The ones that saw Mei yesterday clearly remembered how brutal she could be if provoked, while Perrine was shaking like a leaf. The ones that weren't there took in her appearance for the first time.

"Are your clothes really made out of leaves and vines?" asked Erica, who was the first to notice this. This caught the attention of the other Witches (except for Michiko and Mio) who looked closer; to see that Mei's clothes _were_ made out of leaves and vines.

"How indecent!" Perrine yelled, standing up abruptly, forgetting who she was talking to until she saw Mei's bloodied scythe. Upon seeing that, Perrine turned stark white and scrambled out the door.

"Perrine, what's wron-" Mio was cut off at the sight of Mei's bloodied scythe. "Umm, Mei? Why does your scythe have blood on it?" Mio asked.

When the other Witches noticed this, all of them (except Michiko, because she knew what Mei was doing) paled, thinking that Mei had just murdered somebody.

"How was your hunting trip?" Michiko asked casually, quite used to Mei's habits and lifestyle.

"See for yourself." Mei said as she threw two 15-foot long gators into the briefing room using only one arm for each gator. All the other Witches (INCLUDING Mio, but excluding Michiko) screamed at the top of their lungs and scrambled away from the dead gators as fast as they could.

"What the hell, Mei?" Exclaimed Mio.

"Two 15-foot gators already? Damn, that's impressive." Said Michiko, impressed.

"You're actually used to this?" Minna asked.

"Yup!" Michiko answered.

"Mei, can you please remove your... kills from the building?" Mio asked.

"Sure." Mei answered, grabbing the two dead gators by the tails and dragging them back into the woods.

"If that takes care of everything, then you're all dismissed!" Minna said, who then left the room.

Michiko was wondering what to do next, when suddenly two hands wrapped around her from behind and started groping her breasts.

"How are they?" Shirley asked the groper, who turned out to be Luchinni.

"Consolation Prize." Luchinni said, disappointed. That was when Luchinni felt an ominous aura behind her, an aura she was familiar with from yesterday's events. "Mei's right behind me, isn't she?" Luchinni asked.

"Yup." Mei's sickly sweet voice said from behind her.

"EEEP!" Luchinni yelped, running away from Michiko. Michiko felt relief that her breasts weren't being groped, but that was short-lived as Mei started to grope her breasts.

"M-MEI?" Michiko asked/yelled.

Mei turned to Luchinni, still groping Michiko. "These are mine and mine alone!" Mei said, squeezing Michiko's breasts for emphasis. Michiko blushed in embarrassment, but her face then became beet-red at what Mei said next "Although, if you ask nicely, I _may_ be willing to share... and Michiko? Why do you have your chest bindings on?" Mei asked, reaching into Michiko's shirt and undoing the bindings, causing her breasts to pop out.

"What the…? They're as big as Lynne's!" Eila exclaimed, catching said girl's attention.

"Yeah, but you can't beat these!" Shirley said, grabbing her own breasts. That was when she noticed a gleam in Michiko's eyes. "What's with the look in your eyes?" Shirley asked.

"Mei," said Michiko "undo your chest bindings."

"WHAT?" Mei yelled, her face resembling a tomato "Do you know how hard it is to wrap-"

_RRRIIIIIPPPP!_

_BOING!_

Mei was cut off as Michiko moved at a speed that she hasn't seen before from her and ripped off her chest bindings from under her leaf shirt.

All the other Witches stood there, frozen at the sight of Mei's breasts. They were as big as Shirley's, and Mei was a year younger!

"MICHIKO!" Mei screamed.

* * *

Lynette was giving Michiko a tour of the base, with Mei following them from the shadows.

"Who is that?" Michiko asked, seeing a Witch with a lot of reporters.

"That's Lieutenant Hartmann." Lynette said "She shot down her 200th Neuroi just the other day."

"200th? She shot down that many Neurois?" Michiko asked.

"Captain Barkhorn next to her has shot down 250. Commander Minna has racked up over 160, too." Lynette said "I think the Neurois would've taken over this region too by now had it not been for them."

"That's amazing…" Michiko said.

"All the others have incredible magic skills, too, that they use to protect many people's homelands. The Witches really are amazing!" Lynette said.

"All I can do is heal people." Michiko said.

"Even that's incredible. I'm just a burden that can't do anything at all…" Lynette said solemnly.

"That can't be true…!" Michiko exclaimed.

* * *

"Wow! Amazing!" Michiko said from the top of the base.

"This is the highest-up place on the base." Lynette said.

"This base takes up the entire island!" Michiko exclaimed.

"Yes," Lynette answered "This small island in the middle of the Dover Strait is the Witches' base. And that's the European continent." Lynette said, pointing over to her right. Michiko followed her gaze "But most of it has fallen into enemy hands. It's hard to believe there's a war going on when it's so quiet…" Lynette said.

* * *

"All right! Faster!" Mio said as Michiko, Mei and Lynette were running laps around the runway. "What do you see before you?" Mio yelled.

"The sea!" Lynette yelled.

"The sea!" Michiko yelled.

"The base!" Mei yelled, grinning like a madwoman since she was running back towards the base when Mio asked the question. Mio face-faulted at Mei's answer.

'_I really have to keep a better eye on Mei…'_ Mio thought to herself.

* * *

"Next is flight training with your Striker Units on!" Mio said to Lynette, Michiko and Mei.

Perrine walked into the hangar, not seeing Mei because she already went to fetch her F-86 Sabre from its hiding place in the woods (she doesn't trust the base personnel with her Striker Unit). "Major Sakamoto! Please let me participate, too!" Perrine said.

"Oh! Voluntarily training with new recruits to improve yourself. How commendable!" Mio said, already forgiven Perrine for yesterday's events.

"Y-Yes, plus I thought it might be easier to train in teams of two…" Perrine said.

"Make that three." Shirley said, walking into the hangar.

"Oh? And who are you training with?" Mio asked.

"Me." Mei said, walking through the large hangar doors carrying her Striker Unit. Perrine tensed, not expecting Mei to be training as well.

"What kind of Striker is that?" Shirley asked.

This brought Perrine back to reality. Now that she got a closer look, Mei's Striker Unit was like nothing she had ever seen before.

"It's the F-86 Sabre," Mei answered "A Jet Striker."

"A what?" Shirley asked, confused.

"Never mind." Mei said, hopping into her Striker. "Are we going to fly or what?" Mei asked as she powered up her Striker, making it screech to life. "Mei, taking off!" Mei yelled as she took to the skies.

* * *

The next day, Lynette and Michiko were flight training, and while Lynette was fine, Michiko was having trouble controlling her magic and was flying awkwardly.

"She isn't making much progress..." Minna said "She has great magical power, but she has no control over it. I see that Lynette is still doing well with her training, though."

"If only she could do half as well during actual combat..." Mio said.

"Yes..." Minna answered, taking a step back as Michiko flew in between them.

* * *

At the end of the day, Lynette and Michiko were laying on their backs, panting in exhaustion. Then Trude walked up, gaining Lynette's attention. "New girl." Trude said to Michiko.

"Yes?" Michiko asked.

"This is the front line. Our ability to fight on a moment's notice is what's most important." Trude said "Go home, unless you want to die!" she finished harshly.

"I want to help everyone, too..." Michiko said, looking down.

"The Neurois won't wait for you to mature. If you don't want to have any regrets, then you'd better grow stronger." Trude finished, and then walked off.

* * *

It was night, and Michiko was sitting on the end of the runway when she heard a voice behind her. "Yamakawa?" the voice asked.

Turning her head, Michiko saw that Lynette was the source. "Lynette!" Michiko said.

Lynne sat down besides Michiko. "This is my favorite spot." Lynette said.

"Oh! It's pretty, isn't it?" Michiko replied.

"Yeah..." Lynette answered.

"They were angry with me again today. I need to try even harder…" Michiko trailed off.

"I'm jealous of you…" Lynette said.

"About what?" Michiko asked.

"You know how to try hard and never give up…" Lynette told her.

"They wrote that same thing on my report cards!" Michiko exclaimed.

"I don't have any redeeming qualities, though. I wonder if I should even be here…" Lynette said, depressed.

"Huh? But you're so good at all that stuff!" Michiko said.

"I'm sorry…" Lynette said, standing up and running back to her room.

* * *

The next morning, the Neuroi alarm sounded. "We've received word from lookout posts that the enemy has made an incursion at Grid East 114." Minna said to all the Witches that were in the briefing room, but Mei was strangely absent. Unknown to them, Mei was listening in from the other side of the door. "Its altitude is higher than usual. So we'll be altering our formation this time."

"The vanguard will consist of Barkhorn and Hartmann. Shirley and Luchinni will take up the rear. Perrine, you're with me." Mio ordered as the six aforementioned Witches took off.

"There they go." Michiko said.

"Yes…" Lynette muttered, and then ran off back to her room.

"Lynette!" Michiko called, but Lynette didn't reply. Minna then walked up to her.

"Yamakawa… Do you have a moment?" Minna asked.

"Yes, ma'am…" Michiko answered.

"Lynne hails from this land of Britannia." Minna explained "I assume you're aware the European continent is in the Neurois' hands? Protecting Britannia, her homeland and the last bastion of Europe, the pressure of that makes her helpless in combat."

Nodding in understanding, Michiko ran off to talk to Lynette.

* * *

"Enemy sighted! Charge!" Shouted Mio.

The Witches dived on the Neuroi, pelting it with machine gun fire. Most of the bullets hit, making the Neuroi screech as it dropped out of the sky.

"It's putting up too little of a fight…" Perrine said.

"Strange. I can't find its Core." Said Mio.

"You don't suppose it could be a diversion?" Perrine asked.

Mio's eyes widened in realization as to _why_ she couldn't find the Core "If it is," Mio said "Then the base is in danger!"

* * *

"Lynette…" Michiko said "I'm always getting scolded because of my lousy magic, I can't fly right, and I can't even use guns very well… I don't really want to fight with Neurois, either. But I want to be a member of the Witches." On the other side of the door, Lynette was listening to every word with her head held down and her eyes closed. Michiko continued "And I want to protect everyone…"

Lynette's eyes snapped open in shock; she had forgotten why she had joined the Witches, but Michiko's words helped her to remember. "Protect…" Lynette mumbled.

"That's why I'm going to do my best. You should, too…" Michiko finished.

Lynette turned around to face the door and leaned her head on it. A few seconds later, the emergency bell along with the Neuroi alarm sounded, making Lynette's eyes widen in shock.

* * *

"It looks like we're the only ones able to go." Minna said to Eila. "What about Sanya?" Minna asked.

"She used up all her magic energy conducting night patrol." Eila answered "I don't think she can go." Eila said, her index fingers crossed into an "x" shape.

"I see." Minna said "In that case, it's just us two."

"I'm coming, too!" Michiko said, running into the room.

"You're not ready for actual combat yet." Minna said.

"I'll do my absolute best not to be a burden!" Michiko replied.

"I'm coming, too!" Lynette said, running into the room with renewed confidence.

"Count me in as well." Mei said, walking into the room.

"Very well," Minna relented "You have 90 seconds to get ready!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Michiko, Lynette and Mei responded.

* * *

The inbound Corrupt Neuroi was rapidly making its way towards the base. The five remaining Witches have taken off, Lynette, Eila and Minna not used to the sound of jet engines from Mei's Striker Unit.

"The enemy is approaching the base from 3 o'clock." Minna said "Eila, Mei and I will go on ahead. You can lend us backup from here."

"Yes, ma'am!" Michiko and Lynette responded.

"All right! We're counting on you!" Minna said as she, Eila and Mei went on ahead.

"Yamakawa…" Lynette said "The truth is, I was afraid."

"I'm afraid too, even now." Michiko replied "But… I don't know how to put it, but I was more afraid of staying put and doing nothing at all."

* * *

"It's fast!" Eila exclaimed.

"It's exceedingly faster than anything before!" Minna said.

"All right! A speed battle!" Mei exclaimed.

"Hit-and run tactics won't work." Minna said "Match its speed!"

Eila and Mei both gave a thumbs up in acknowledgement, as the three dived on the Neuroi from above, matching its speed as they fired upon it.

* * *

"The Neuroi?" Michiko asked as she saw a glint in the distance.

"It looks like it." Replied Lynette.

"It's getting closer!" Michiko exclaimed.

Lynette responded by holding out and aiming her cannon.

* * *

The three Witches were still firing at the Neuroi, when a few bullets hit the rear portion of it, causing it to separate from the rest of the Neuroi.

"It sped up!" Eila exclaimed as she, Minna and Mei dodged the rear portion that the Neuroi discarded.

"It's moving faster than the speed of sound!" Minna shouted "It's too fast! This is bad!"

Mei crossed her arms and held her head up high with her eyes squinted, and said two words "Challenge…Accepted."

Unknown to Mei, she just started something that would eventually lead to the creation of the popular internet meme, "Challenge Accepted".

Mei sped up, breaking the sound barrier.

"Mei just broke the sound barrier!" Eila yelled "She's flying faster than the speed of sound!"

"Say WHAT!" Shirley shouted over the intercom.

* * *

Lynette was panicking as she kept firing her cannon, each shot missing.

"It's no good, I can't hit it." Lynette said frightened as the Neuroi sped towards them.

"Yes you can, it's just like when you were in training." Michiko tried.

"That's the thing; it's taking all I have just to fly. I can't steady my cannon." Lynette explained.

"Then I'll support you so you can focus on firing." Michiko said as she flew under Lynette and supported Lynette on her shoulders.

"Feeling more stable?" Michiko asked.

"Yes, thanks." Lynette said as she took aim.

"Bishop, Yamakawa, Mei is chasing the Neuroi, but won't make it in time. You're the only chance we have left at this point. This is your moment." Minna said over the comm.

"The wind is west-southwest, with a wind-force of 3, the enemy's speed... Location... Got it." Lynette said.

"When I give you the signal, I'm going to need you to shoot with me." Lynette instructed.

"Got it." Michiko replied and readied her machine gun.

"Shoot now!" Lynette yelled and Michiko fired.

Lynette then followed up with four shots from her sniper cannon.

The Neuroi dodged Michiko's shots, going upwards but got clipped by Lynette's first shot, getting forced up then got hit by another, forcing the nose up, a third forced the nose up further and the last blew through the Core, destroying it.

"We hit it!" Lynette said.

"Lynne… You did it!" Minna said.

"Amazing!" Michiko said.

"I did it! I did it, Yamakawa!" Lynette exclaimed, hugging onto Michiko "I manage to help everyone for the first time ever! It's all thanks to you, Yamakawa! Thank you!"

The two girls yelled as they fell into the water. The two surfaced, laughing.

"You can call me Michiko. We're friends, right?" Michiko asked.

"You can call me Lynne, then!" Lynne replied.

"Okay, Lynne!" Michiko said.

"Okay, Michiko!" Lynne said, jumping onto Michiko, unknowingly pushing her breasts into Michiko's face.

Mei looked at the two from above, a warm smile on her face. Eila and Minna did the same.


	5. Chapter 5

The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 5: "Thanks"

_Begin dream sequence_

_Karlsland was burning. Trude was gazing down on the burning remains of her hometown, and Erica was with her. Trude gritted her teeth and looked up at the cause of the destruction; a large type Neuroi. Grunting in anger, Trude raised her gun and began firing on the Neuroi as the Neuroi returned fire with beams. Trude dodged most of the beams, while blocking the rest. By this time, several other Witches have joined the fray, firing upon the Neuroi as well. Trude eventually revealed the red Core of the Neuroi. With a war-cry, she fired at the Core, destroying it and causing the Neuroi to shatter into white flakes. As the flakes crashed down into the burning city, Trude looked down and was greeted with a sight she did _not _want to see; her little sister, Chris, was standing in the middle of the street, crying._

_End dream sequence_

"Chris!" Trude yelled, shooting up from her bed. After a few moments of silence, Trude asked herself "Why am I dreaming about that now?"

* * *

"Hey, Michiko!" Lynne said to Michiko, as the two were in the kitchen cooking breakfast "Did you hear? The Kauhava base went into action to find a lost child!"

"Really?" Michiko asked "We even do that sort of thing? That's incredible!"

"Yeah, all just for one kid!" Lynne said.

"But I guess if we can't help people one at a time like that, then we can't possibly help everyone, huh?" Michiko asked.

"Helping everyone..." a voice said from behind them. Lynne and Michiko turned around to see that it was Trude who spoke "That's nothing but a pipe dream." Trude said as she grabbed a tray of food.

By this time all of the Witches had grabbed a tray and were currently eating breakfast, that is, except for Mei, who then walked into the room.

"Mei, what are you doing here?" Eila asked.

"I never miss out on Michiko's cooking." Mei answered.

Trude however, hasn't eaten her breakfast yet. Minna walked up to her. "What's wrong, Trude? Why the long face?" Minna asked.

"You don't seem to have an appetite, either." Erica said.

"That's not true!" Trude replied.

"You usually _never_ skimp on eating, but you haven't even touched your food..." Erica said.

Trude responded by taking a couple of bites from her breakfast.

"Seconds!" Luchinni requested.

"Coming!" Michiko replied.

Walking up to Luchinni, Michiko noticed that Trude wasn't eating. "U-Umm, was it not to your liking?" Michiko asked.

Trude ignored the question as she took her tray back to the kitchen.

"Hurry up with my seconds!" Luchinni said impatiently.

"Oh, right! Just a minute!" Michiko said.

* * *

Lynne, Mei and Michiko were out doing laundry when two Witches flew by. "Wow! Amazing!" Michiko exclaimed.

It's Captain Barkhorn and Lieutenant Hartmann!" Lynne said.

Looking at Michiko, Trude narrowed her eyes and continued with her flight training.

"She's out of sync..." Mio said, as Minna was watching Trude's training with a pair of binoculars.

"Yes, she keeps falling behind..." Minna said.

"Barkhorn's a perfectionist." Mio said "This isn't like her. Maybe we should take her off the next shift?"

"Having an ace you can't rely on is kind of distressing." Minna said, lowering her binoculars.

"Yes. Even though we can count on others now, they lack firepower." Mio said.

"She's been like this ever since Yamakawa arrived." Minna informed.

"Should we try pairing them up?" Mio asked.

* * *

Trude was in her room, staring at an overturned picture frame. _'Why is this all coming back now...?'_ Trude thought to herself.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_At a hospital, Trude and Minna were in the lobby._

"_We've taken care of her external injuries, but she must've had quite a shock," the receptionist said "She shows no signs of regaining consciousness."_

"_I see..." Minna said, depressed._

"_This town is going to fall soon," the doctor said "Your sister and I will be on the next ship to Britannia."_

"_Thank you." Trude said, tears welling up in her eyes. _

_**END FLASHBACK**_

* * *

In the kitchen, Lynne was worried. "Where could Michiko be?" Lynne asked herself.

"Sorry I'm late!" Michiko apologized, running into the kitchen.

"What happened?" Lynne asked "I was worried!"

"Sorry!" Michiko apologized "This place is so big that it's tough to clean! Okay! I'll help you now!"

Mei then walked into the kitchen. "Hey, you two." Mei greeted.

"Hi, Mei." Lynne and Michiko said at the same time.

"Hey…" Michiko said to Lynne.

"Yes?" Lynne asked.

"Do you think Barkhorn hates me?" Michiko asked.

"Huh? What makes you say that?" Lynne asked.

"For her sake, she'd better not." Mei answered, clenching her fists.

* * *

The Witches were currently eating lunch outside. "According to the strategy room's report," Minna said to everyone "We're scheduled to have a sortie the day after tomorrow. So please relax today and restore your spirits, everyone!"

"Oh, Yamakawa, Lynne and Mei," Mio said, gaining the trio's attention "You have training after this."

"Yes, ma'am!" the three responded.

Michiko and Mei then slurped their drinks. Perrine slapped her forehead "My! How ill-mannered..." Perrine scolded.

Michiko blushed in embarrassment, having forgotten that slurping is inappropriate, while Mei had a confused look on her face. "Huh?" Mei asked.

"Mei, you're supposed to drink tea without making a sound!" Lynne said.

"Sorry," Mei apologized "But I've been living in the woods for the last five years, so I don't know that much on manners." Mei said.

This took the others by surprise. "Really? So _that_ explains why your clothes are made out of leaves and vines!" Eila said.

"Correct." Mei replied.

* * *

Mio was watching Mei, Lynne and Michiko train, unaware that Perrine was watching (more like stalking) her from behind some nearby crates.

'_Urgh… Why does Major Sakamoto favor that Michiko girl so much?'_ Perrine thought to herself.

Trude was also watching them from the briefing room, her focus on Michiko. Whenever she sees Michiko, she is reminded of her little sister, Chris.

* * *

In the bathhouse were Lynne, Mei and Michiko. Mei was currently cleaning her scythe under the water so as not to raise a panic.

"Lynne," Michiko said "Minna just gave me a pay packet, but I was surprised because I didn't expect to get paid!"

"Of course we get paid!" Mei said "We're in the military after all! We're fighting in a…war…" Mei trailed off, her eyes narrowing.

"Is something wrong, Mei?" Lynne asked.

"Mei's family was murdered by a warmonger, but please don't say anything about it." Michiko answered. Lynne gasped.

"So that's what happened to your family." Mio said, walking up to them.

"I don't like to talk about it," Mei replied "So drop the subject already."

"Very well, I will respect your wishes." Mio complied.

Perrine then walked in, but on sighting Mio, she hid behind the wall.

'_I can't believe they're in the same bathtub… She doesn't deserve such an honor!'_ Perrine thought to herself. Perrine then noticed that Mei was there as well; who glanced in her direction and raised her scythe in such a way that only the blade's green tip was visible above the water. The warning was clear; "Don't try anything stupid, or you'll lose an arm!"

Perrine gulped. _'Does she _ever_ let go of that thing?'_ Perrine thought to herself.

* * *

Mei was the first to leave the bath, followed by Mio, Lynne, and then Michiko. Michiko was currently drinking some milk from a bottle when Perrine, who saw that Mei was gone, stormed up to her.

"Yamakawa!" Perrine yelled "Do you have any tact at all?"

"Eh?" Michiko asked.

"I've had enough of your antics today! You serve rotten beans for breakfast! You hit me in the face with a mop! You slurp as you drink your tea! And on top of all that, you go and bathe with the major?" Perrine yelled "You little raccoon dog!" Perrine insulted.

* * *

Minna, who was watching from a distance, sighed. _'I swear,'_ Minna thought to herself _'Perrine's attitude is going to land her in a whole lot of trouble.'_ Unfortunately, she didn't know how right she was.

* * *

Mei, who was walking nearby, froze when she heard Perrine's insult. _'That's it! She's asking for an ass-kicking!'_ Mei thought to herself as she ran towards where she heard Perrine.

* * *

Minna, using her Area Analysis, froze when she detected Mei rapidly approaching. Thinking quickly, she ran as fast as she could, hoping to save Perrine from a brutal beatdown.

* * *

"Little raccoon dog?" Michiko exclaimed.

"That's right!" Perrine said "If you don't like it, then how does 'mongrel' sound?" Perrine insulted.

_CRACK!_

Perrine stopped when she heard the sound of cracking knuckles. Turning around nervously thinking it was Minna, Perrine froze in sheer horror when she saw that it was Mei who cracked her knuckles, her eyes changing from green to purple, signifying that Aki took over. Fortunately for Perrine, that was when Minna ran into the room.

"Don't even think about it, Mei!" Minna said. Aki turned her head to face Minna, who then knew that Aki was currently in control thanks to Mio explaining Mei's darker personality to her. "Aki, stand down!" Minna ordered.

Aki stood there for a few moments, and with a sigh, said **"As you wish."** Aki then turned her gaze to Perrine, who shrunk back in fear. **"If this happens again, I'm giving you the worst beatdown in your life, consequences be damned!"** Aki warned before switching back with Mei, her eyes turning back to their usual green.

"Let's go, Michiko." Mei said as she and Michiko left the room, leaving Perrine scared stiff.

* * *

It was currently night at the base. "What's wrong?" Minna asked Trude when she walked in Trude's room "You're lights aren't even on… Were you thinking about your sister?" Minna asked. Trude looked down. "That wasn't you fault." Mina said.

"No, Chris wouldn't have been caught up in it if I'd been able to attack the Neurois sooner." Trude said.

"You slowed the enemy's invasion and gave the citizens time to evacuate!" Minna countered.

"It's a fact that I couldn't protect my country!" Trude yelled.

"You aren't alone when it comes to that." Minna said. Minna then got an idea. "I know! You have plenty of leave time saved up! Why not take some time off for a while?" Minna asked "You haven't gone to visit her, right?"

"There's no need!" Trude yelled "I've given this life to the Witches. The sister that Chris knew died on that day." Trude said, walking out the room.

Only to be punched square in the face by Mei, who was standing at the door.

"Don't say that!" Mei said "You're lucky, you know!"

"Oh yeah? How's that?" Trude asked, getting up off the floor.

Mei couldn't take it anymore. "AT LEAST SHE'S STILL ALIVE! MY FAMILY WAS MURDERED BY A WARMONGER!" Mei shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. The tough front that Mei has been putting up ever since that terrible day finally broke down, as she ran out the room, crying.

Trude and Minna were shocked to the extreme. They didn't know that someone had it far more badly than Trude.

* * *

"Today we will be conducting formation flying exercises." Mio said to the gathered Witches the next day. Mei was strangely absent, and Trude was looking depressed. "Lynne, you will be my second."

"Yes, ma'am!" Lynne said.

"Yamakawa, you will be Barkhorn's second." Mio said.

"Yes, ma'am!" Michiko responded.

Trude looked at Michiko, a scowl on her face.

"You seconds will simply follow your leaders." Mio explained "Don't watch anything else. If there's a change of course, then follow. If orders to fire are given, then shoot."

"Yes, ma'am!" the three Witches responded.

"The leaders will give precise instructions to the seconds while constantly keeping an eye on the enemy." Mio explained "So follow along without worry!"

* * *

The four Witches have just taken off.

"This pair formation is called a Rotte, and two Rottes is a Schwarm, or a 'flight'." Mio said "For this exercise, my team will flee and Barkhorn's team will pursue!" Mio waited for Trude to respond, but only got silence. "What's wrong, Barkhorn? Do you not read me?" Mio asked, tapping her intercom.

"I'm fine. Go on ahead." Trude said.

"All right, Lynne! Follow me!" Mio ordered, diving away. Lynne followed suit.

"Here we go, new girl." Trude said breaking off to pursue Mio and Lynne.

"Right!" Michiko confirmed, following her.

Suddenly, the Neuroi alarm sounded, gaining the attention of the four airborne Witches as flares went off above the base.

"Enemy attack!" Mio yelled.

"You can't be serious!" said Lynne.

"The enemy?" asked Trude.

Mio saw one of the base personnel holding up a chalkboard with the Neuroi's coordinates written on it.

"It's a Neuroi!" said Mio "Grid East 07, altitude of 15,000!"

By this time, Perrine and Minna joined up as well.

"They've been breaking from their usual attack cycle lately." Mio said.

"They've apparently been active in Karlsland, but I don't know the details…" said Minna.

"Karlsland?" asked Trude.

"What's wrong?" asked Mio.

"No, it's nothing…" Trude said.

"All right, change of formation!" Mio ordered "Perrine will be Barkhorn's second, and Yamakawa will come with me."

'_Again?'_ Perrine thought to herself.

* * *

"Enemy sighted!" exclaimed Mio, seeing the Neuroi. It had four fins; one on the top, one on the bottom, and the other two were on its sides. What made this particular Neuroi stand out from any other that they've seen before was the tri-pronged rotating accelerator in the middle of it.

"Barkhorn team! Charge!" ordered Minna "Major, cover them!"

"Roger!" confirmed Mio "Follow me, Yamakawa!" Mio ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!" was Michiko's response.

The Corrupt Neuroi was approaching as Trude fired both her machine guns.

'_Why can't I keep up…?'_ Perrine thought, but saw that Michiko was having no problems keeping up with Mio. "That little raccoon dog, fighting alongside Major Sakamoto!" Perrine yelled.

"Perrine, consider yourself lucky that Mei didn't…" started Minna, but was cut off.

"I heard it," Mei said through the comm. "And Perrine's getting a beatdown today as soon as this is over!" Mei then came screeching in with her F-86 Sabre, surprising Trude who has never seen a Jet Striker before.

Perrine paled.

"Never mind." Minna corrected, and then noticed something. "Something _is_ wrong!" Minna said.

"Huh?" asked Lynne.

"I mean Barkhorn!" said Minna "She always keeps her second in her field of vision! But she's going off all by herself today!"

Trude continued to fire at the Neuroi, not paying any attention to her surroundings.

"You're staying too close, Barkhorn!" Mio yelled.

Trude turned to face the Neuroi, and barely dodged a beam that was fired. Perrine wasn't as lucky; Perrine brought up her shield to block the beam, but the impact sent her careening towards Trude, who she crashed into. Taking advantage of their distracted states, the Corrupt Neuroi fired more beams.

"**Getting distracted is a terrible mistake when facing me!"** the Corrupt Neuroi yelled, but again only Mei could understand it perfectly, and to the others it sounded like a screech.

One of the beams sliced through one of Trude's guns, making it explode. Trude screamed in pain as she fell out of the sky.

"Captain!" Perrine yelled, flying after her.

"Barkhorn!" yelled Michiko, also flying after her.

* * *

Perrine and Michiko both grabbed onto Trude to slow her fall, and gently lowered her onto the ground, where Michiko opened up Trude's shirt to expose the wound.

"It's my fault! What do we do?" Perrine asked.

"She's bleeding badly!" Michiko said "We can't move her. It'll only make it worse. I'll have to tend to her here!"

"Please, help her!" begged Perrine as Michiko's hands lit up with healing magic.

Up above, the Corrupt Neuroi, seeing an easy kill, pointed its nose straight up so that it was hovering in place.

"Stay calm. Easy does it... Concentrate…" Michiko told herself.

"You have that kind of power?" Perrine asked, but turned around and quickly threw up her shield to block some beams.

"I'm going to heal you now!" Michiko said to Trude as she woke up.

"It's dangerous for you two to stay here with me!" Trude said.

At this point, Mei flew in and added her shield to help defend as well. "Perrine, I'll let it slide this time. But don't let it happen again!" Mei told Perrine. Perrine only nodded, knowing that Mei was referring to her insulting Michiko.

"Get away from here. Just forget about me." Trude said. "Use your powers on the enemy…!"

"No! I _will_ save you! We're on the same team!" Michiko exclaimed. "You can protect many more people than I can if you live through this!"

"I can't." Trude said solemnly "I can't protect everyone... I can't even protect my own sister... Just go. Forget about me." Trude said.

"Maybe we _can't_ protect everyone!" Michiko said "But I can't just abandon someone who's hurt! I want to protect as many people as I can. Even if it's just one more person!"

Trude's eyes were watering at this point, but not from pain. She then got a smile on her face.

The Corrupt Neuroi fired more beams, which were blocked by Perrine and Mei. The Neuroi then combined three beams fired from its rotating accelerator, firing an extremely powerful beam. Perrine was knocked back, but Mei stood her ground, if only barely.

Michiko, having finished healing Trude, collapsed in exhaustion.

* * *

Trude's eyes snapped open, remembering Chris. _'My power…'_ Trude thought to herself _'Even if it's just one more person… This time, I will protect people!'_

"The Core!" Mio yelled as the Core was exposed.

Michiko looked at Trude who was carrying two guns, one of them Michiko's.

"Bark…horn…" Michiko said weakly.

Trude turned and gave a warm smile to Michiko, then took off after the Neuroi. Mio and Minna were firing on the Core unable to land a hit, when Trude came barreling through firing both guns at the Core, destroying it.

Minna flew up to Trude and gave her a sharp slap to the cheek. "What were you thinking? What would we have done if we lost you, too? We may have lost our homelands and everything else, but we're a team! No, we're family!" Minna yelled, tears in her eyes "Everyone in this unit is!" Minna then pulled Trude into a hug.

"That's right!" said Mei, joining the hug "I've found a new family with the Witches, and I will protect them with my life! I'm sure your sister Chris will get better, too!"

"So don't be in a hurry to die! For her _and _your new comrades! We Witches are the only ones who can protect everyone!" Minna yelled.

"Sorry. I forgot that we're a family…" Trude said. "Can I... Can I have some time off? I think I'll go visit her." Trude said.

Minna nodded as Mio flew up to the two. "Looks like she's finally feeling up to it." Mio said.

Trude only smiled.

* * *

Not far away, Mei secretly hid a green Pure Neuroi fragment that she found from the Corrupt Neuroi, that had survived the Corrupt Neuroi's attempts to corrupt it, in one of her Striker's compartments.

* * *

"I didn't manage to do anything today." Michiko said, back at the base.

"That's not true." Lynne said.

"I don't know…" Michiko trailed off, but was then hugged from behind.

"Yamakawa! I hear you saved Trude?" Erica, the one who was hugging her, asked.

"Trude?" asked Michiko.

"She means Captain Barkhorn." Lynne said.

"They're back!" Lynne exclaimed as she saw Mio, Minna, Mei and Trude landing.

Lynne, Erica and Michiko waved, and Trude waved back.

* * *

The next day, Trude was packing her bag when she heard a car horn.

"Barkhorn! Your ride is here!" Michiko yelled through the door.

"Okay, I'll be right there!" Trude answered back, lifting up the overturned picture frame and setting it back upright to reveal a picture of Trude and Chris. "I'll need to thank her sometime…" Trude said to herself as she looked at the picture one last time before exiting the room.

"Thanks."


	6. Chapter 6

**The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. How many times do I have to say that?**

**Chapter 6: Interception!**

"Huh? We're going to the beach?" Michiko asked excitedly. All the Witches, save Shirley and Lucchini, were gathered in the living room.

"Yes." Mio answered "Tomorrow morning. We're going to the eastern shore of this island."

"Hurray!" Michiko cheered "The beach! Swimming in the ocean!" Michiko looked around, confused as to why the others weren't excited. "Huh? You guys don't like the beach?" Michiko asked.

"Michiko…" Lynne whispered, tugging on her shirt.

"Yes?" Michiko asked.

"It's for training." Lynne whispered.

"Training?" Michiko asked.

"That is correct!" Mio said, getting up from her chair "We must be able to react to anything that may happen in battle! That includes the loss of flight while above the ocean! This is why training for falling into the sea is necessary!"

"I see…" Michiko deflated.

"What's that, Yamakawa? You hate training?" Mio said.

"No, it's not like that…" Michiko denied.

Minna giggled at Michiko's reaction. "This is where we'll gather. 1000 hours. Got that?" Minna asked.

"Understood!" Sanya and Eila replied.

"Got it, Yamakawa?" Minna asked Michiko.

"Yes, ma'am!" replied Michiko.

"All right, then. Please pass that information along to Shirley and Lucchini." Minna said "Shirley has been in the hangar since this morning. Lucchini should be asleep somewhere on the base, so see if you can find her."

"Understood!" Michiko said.

"Oh, and Yamakawa." Mina said "We won't necessarily be training for the entire day."

"Huh?" Michiko asked.

"In other words, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy the beach between exercises!" Minna said.

"In other words," Mei said "You'll be so tired; you won't be able to enjoy the beach at all."

'_How did she know that?'_ Minna and Mio thought at the same time.

Michiko tensed.

"Let's go, you two." Mei said, grabbing Michiko's and Lynne's hands and pulling them towards the hangar.

"Shirley's in the hangar, huh?" Mio asked.

"Yes, since morning." Minna replied "Maybe she'll be ready to come out soon?"

Mio sighed. "Things are going to get loud." Mio said.

* * *

As Michiko, Mei and Lynne were walking, a loud bang was heard coming from the hangar.

"Wh-What was that?" Michiko asked.

"It came from inside the hangar…" Lynne said.

"Let's go!" Mei yelled, already running to the hangar. The other two followed suit.

* * *

"Shirley!" Michiko yelled as she, Lynne and Mei ran into the hangar.

"Yo! What brings you here?" Shirley asked.

Mei noticed that Shirley was wearing a Striker Unit. "Making adjustments?" Mei asked.

"Yup!" Shirley answered, closing the hatches to her Striker Unit's engines and powered it up.

"I'll be right back!" Mei called out, running out the hangar to fetch her F-86 Sabre. Shirley just shrugged, and increased the power from idle to full throttle, creating a huge amount of noise.

Michiko and Lynne covered their ears. "That's enough! We understand now!" Michiko yelled.

"Yep, looking good!" Shirley said, not hearing Michiko as she pressed a few buttons. "If I tweak the unbalanced weight allocation between it and the shield a little more…"

"Shirley!" Michiko shouted, waving her right hand as she used her shoulder as an ear plug.

"What are you saying now?" Shirley asked, powering down her Striker Unit.

"PLEASE STOP ALL THE NOISE!" Michiko screamed, unaware that Shirley turned off her Striker.

"Not so loud!" Shirley said as she uncovered her ears.

"Sorry…!" Michiko said, covering her mouth, but then noticed that Mei was missing. "Hey, where's Mei?" Michiko asked.

"She said that she'll be right back…" Shirley said, confused.

Michiko understood what Mei meant. "Lynne! Help me out with this!" Michiko said as she went behind a Striker Unit docking station with wheels, pushing it forward.

"Okay!" Lynne agreed, helping Michiko push it into position.

"What are you doing?" Shirley asked, but then heard someone walk into the hangar.

"I'm back!" Mei exclaimed, walking into the hangar carrying her Striker Unit.

"Oh…never mind." Shirley said, now understanding.

Mei hooked up her Sabre to the docking station and jumped into her Striker. "I've been meaning to test out my prototype magic afterburners, but I wasn't able to find the time to do so." Mei explained what she was doing.

"Afterburners?" Michiko, Lynne, Shirley and Lucchini, who jumped down from her resting place from the ceiling, asked.

"Yep, just watch and learn!" Mei said.

By this time, all the other Witches walked into the hangar, curious about Mei's Striker Unit. "What's going on?" Sanya asked.

Eila noticed what Striker Unit Mei was wearing. "Shirley, you might want to back up, as in, come over here with us." Eila said.

"Why?" Shirley asked.

"I would listen to Eila if I were you." Mei warned. "Trust me on this one."

"Okay, then." Shirley said, hopping out of her Striker and walking towards the group, Lynne and Michiko joining her.

"Here goes…" Mei said, as she slowly powered up her Striker Unit.

The Witches (besides Michiko, of course) still weren't used to the sound of jet engines. "What kind of Striker is that?" Minna asked, amazed.

"Mei's a Striker Unit genius and a master at stealth." Mio answered "She built that Striker herself after stealing several other Strikers from a maximum security base."

This caused the other Witches to go wide-eyed. "WHAT?" the Witches (minus Michiko) yelled.

"What kind of Striker is it, then?" Trude asked.

"That's the thing." Mio answered "It's a Jet Striker."

The other Witches were confused, but Minna's eyes bulged out. "Say WHAT?" Minna asked.

"Testing complete." Mei said in a monotone, powering down her Sabre and disconnecting it from the docking station. Lifting up both leg mounts, she walked out of the hangar.

* * *

Shirley hopped back into her Striker Unit, intending to find out its new top speed. "Here I go!" Shirley exclaimed, speeding out of the hangar.

"She took off so fast!" Michiko said.

"Shirley's just getting started!" Lucchini said excitedly.

Mio took out a pair of binoculars. "She's speeding up fast." Mio said.

"1,000 meters high in 50 seconds!" Perrine exclaimed "That's an unprecedented rate, Major!"

Michiko internally scoffed. _'Mei did that in less than 20 seconds before. But I might as well let them have their fun.'_ Michiko thought to herself.

Topping out at max speed, Shirley was only able to fly just above 800 KPH.

"She broke 800 KPH! It's a new record!" Lucchini said excitedly.

"Her acceleration stopped." Perrine noted.

"How far did she go?" Mio asked.

"Just a little over the 800 mark." Perrine said.

"I see. So over 800 is where they round out…" Mio mused.

"Do you think this is their limit, after all?" Minna asked.

"The sound barrier is still a long way off…" Mio trailed off. _'But Mei has already broken the sound barrier several times already…'_ Mio thought to herself.

* * *

Later, Shirley, Lucchini, Lynne and Michiko were eating dinner inside the hangar, while Michiko was looking through a book. "So these are all of your speed records?" Michiko asked.

"Yep!" Shirley answered. "I'm currently trying to break the speed of sound!"

"Good luck with that!" Michiko called out as she left the hangar.

* * *

The next day, the Witches (minus Mei) were clad in swimsuits at the beach and were having fun, except Michiko and Lynne, that is.

"Why do we have to wear these?" Michiko asked.

"Don't make me repeat myself!" Mio scolded "It's in case you fall into the ocean!"

"All the others have done this training." Minna said "You're the only ones left."

"Now quit complaining and jump in already!" Mio ordered.

Michiko and Lynne wasted no time jumping in, but found it difficult to swim to the surface.

After a minute of waiting, Mio and Minna were getting anxious. "They're not coming back up…" Mio said.

"No…" Minna said.

Mio pulled out a stopwatch, unaware that Mei was hiding in the shadows, ready to hop in and rescue them if needed.

Mio sighed. "I guess this is going to go as smoothly as flying…" Mio stated.

"Perhaps this is the most they can do? Or are we pushing them to hard?" Minna asked.

Moments later, Michiko and Lynne broke the surface, but were struggling to stay there.

"How long are you going to keep dog-paddling?" Mio asked, annoyed. "Come on! Take a page out of Perrine's book!" Mio yelled.

Perrine swam right up next to them. "Honestly, now!" Perrine huffed, and then swam away.

Lynne and Michiko were getting exhausted and, unable to stay above the surface, slipped beneath the waves. Mio and Minna weren't worried, since they thought that they would breach the surface again in any moment. Nearby, however, Mei was scared stiff; she saw the looks of pure exhaustion on Lynne's and Michiko's faces.

"All right, everyone! Break time!" Mio called out.

As everyone else did their own thing, Mio and Minna kept waiting for Lynne and Michiko to surface. After two minutes, they began to get anxious, but after five minutes, they were in a panic.

"It's been five minutes, but they still haven't surfaced!" Minna exclaimed.

Mio paled.

Mei, however, sprang into action. Leaping from her hiding place and performing a swan dive into the water, Mei swam faster than anyone thought was possible down after Michiko and Lynne, catching Mio and Minna by surprise. Grabbing the two by their arms, Mei then practically shot up to the surface like a rocket. Dragging them to the beach, all the Witches stopped what they were doing as they watched with wide eyes Mei performing CPR to wake the two nearly-drowned Witches. Mei gave a sigh of relief as the two coughed up water, but then became extremely angry upon seeing Mio and Minna.

"Mio, Minna…" Mei said in a _very_ sickly-sweet voice.

Mio and Minna gulped; they didn't expect Lynne and Michiko to drown!

"Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't kill you both right now?" Mei asked with venom in her voice, but then looked up. "We'll finish this later!" Mei yelled, running into the woods.

"What was that about?" Minna asked.

Shirley looked up to see something fly in front of the sun. "The enemy!" Shirley exclaimed as she ran towards the hangar, but was only able to run twenty steps before Mei, already in her Striker Unit, took off after it, breaking the sound barrier.

"How the hell did Mei already get up there?" Minna asked.

"Mei's broken the sound barrier several times before, but to break the sound barrier while taking off?" Mio asked in amazement, making Shirley go wide-eyed.

'_Mei has already broken the sound barrier before?'_ Shirley thought to herself as she kept running towards the hangar.

* * *

Mei was flying as fast as she could after the Neuroi, but upon reaching it, she was surprised to see that it was green instead of red, which meant that it was a Pure Neuroi.

"Excuse me, Pure Neuroi?" Mei asked, after making sure her intercom was turned off; she didn't want anyone else to hear this.

"**Are you the one who understands us?"** the Pure Neuroi asked.

"Yes, I can understand you." Mei answered "Have you found out anything that concerns Queen Yoshika's location?" Mei asked as she held out the pendant that Yoshika gave to her.

"**Unfortunately, no."** the Pure Neuroi replied **"But seeing that you have that pendant means that Queen Yoshika trusts you the most out of these humans."**

"Yes… I loved her dearly." Mei said, tears in her eyes from remembering her past. But then she went wide-eyed, sensing a Witch, most likely Shirley, was fast approaching.

"**I have something to give to you. Knowing Queen Yoshika like I do, I think she would want you to have it."** The Pure Neuroi said, surprising Mei. Mei was unprepared for a light-green beam of energy to connect from the Pure Neuroi's Core, which exposed itself to do this, to her head, filling it with the information of the jet that this Pure Neuroi resembles, the SR-71 Blackbird, and its Striker Unit counterpart and how to build it with the parts from piston-engine Strikers, using the Sabre as the base model.

Mei then opened up one of the Sabre's hidden compartments, revealing other Pure Neuroi Core fragments. "Break off a tiny piece of your Core, transfer your consciousness to it, and get in here." Mei pleaded "I don't want you to die. We WILL save Queen Yoshika, and we WILL see her again!"

"**Very well. Thank you for your help. As thanks, I will help you with the construction of the new… Striker Unit, as you humans call it."** The Pure Neuroi said, breaking off a tiny piece of its green Core and guiding it inside Mei's Sabre's hidden compartment, which then closed to hide it. _**'I will make my body pull on ahead to make it look as though you were chasing me this whole time, as I understand your need to keep this as secret as possible.'**_ The Pure Neuroi said through the newly-formed mental link from within the hidden compartment as it commanded its body to accelerate just below Mei's top speed, while Mei made it look as though she was just about to catch up.

Shirley then pulled up next to her. "What's the matter, slowpoke?" Shirley asked/teased.

"You never saw me test out the afterburners, haven't you?" Mei asked, as Shirley noticed that the Neuroi was accelerating again.

"No. Me and the other Witches were too busy arguing with each other." Shirley admitted.

"Then watch this!" Mei exclaimed as she lit up the afterburners, shooting on ahead towards the Neuroi. Shirley went wide-eyed.

"Take this!" Mei yelled, but mentally apologized to the Pure Neuroi shard that was hidden in one of the compartments for what she was about to do.

'_**It's okay. The body and most of the Core may be destroyed, but as long as a single piece of the Core survives, we Neuroi can still live.'**_ The Pure Neuroi said to Mei mentally, easing Mei's mind at the fact that she wasn't actually killing him. Mei swung her scythe down, "destroying" the Core, making the Neuroi shatter.

"Let's head back to base, shall we?" Mei asked Shirley, who agreed. But then Shirley's Striker started sparking, making them both widen their eyes.

"Eject that Striker, NOW!" Mei yelled urgently, holding onto Shirley as Shirley ejected the Strikers from her legs. After falling for five seconds, the ejected Strikers exploded.

Mei then carried Shirley back to the base.

* * *

Later that night, Mei was sneaking around the base, looking for the warehouse that held all the spare Striker Units. After an hour of searching, Mei found it, and was pleasantly surprised that there were no guards. However, Mei didn't let her guard down for an instant; she had a mission to do. Easily sneaking in without making any noise, Mei stuck with the shadows, being as stealthy as possible.

"There they are." Mei said quietly to herself upon seeing the spare Striker Units. Slowly and expertly, Mei unhooked each Striker from its docking station without triggering any alarms, and took them one at a time to a well-hidden cave that she found on the opposite side of the island base. Once she was done with the transfer of most of the Striker Units, Mei grabbed all the necessary tools, destroyed all evidence that she was at the warehouse, and went back to her cave.

"Now let's get to work." Mei said as a green shard floated next to her, eager to help out.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. How many times do I have to squidding say that?!**

**Chapter 7: Night Fighter**

Sanya was currently on night patrol, when she spotted a transport plane approaching from the distance.

* * *

On the mentioned transport plane sat three Witches.

"Grumpiness is written all over your face, Major Sakamoto." said Minna.

"They called us all the way out here to tell us they're cutting our budgets. Of course I look grumpy." retorted Mio.

"They're feeling frustrated too, given that we're the only ones producing results in the war." Minna replied.

"The only thing they see is their own position." Mio countered.

"That's just how the warmongers are. Had the Neuroi never appeared they might be warring with each other right now." said Minna.

"It'd be like a world war, I bet" said Mio, who then turned to the younger brunette Witch to her right. "Sorry Yamakawa. I was hoping to show you around a town in Britannia since we're here, but…"

"It's okay," Michiko replied "I was just, uh, thinking that the military sure has all kinds of people!" At this point, the three Witches could hear singing. "Umm, do you hear something?" Michiko asked.

"Oh, that's Sanya singing." answered Minna, looking out the window "We must be near the base."

The singing suddenly stopped, puzzling Michiko, and putting Mio and Minna on edge. "What's wrong, Sanya?" Minna asked.

"Someone is watching us…" Sanya said in a soft voice.

"You need to report clearly and loudly." Mio said.

"I'm sorry," Sanya apologized, and then continued "An unknown aircraft is approaching from the direction of Sirius."

"Is it a Neuroi?" Minna asked.

"Yes, I'm almost certain of it." Sanya answered "It's not moving at a normal aircraft's speed."

Mio lifted her eye patch, exposing her purple Magic Eye. "I don't see it, though…" Mio said.

"It's in the clouds." Sanya stated "It can't be detected with the naked eye."

"Damnnit, Mei!" Michiko cursed "Of all the times you had to start building a new Striker Unit, why now?"

Minna and Mio tensed. "Mei's building a new Striker?" Minna asked. Michiko nodded, still cursing to herself. "Well, that explains why most of our spare Strikers are missing." Minna said, Mio nodding in agreement. "So what kind of Striker is it?" Minna asked.

"I don't know," Michiko admitted "The only thing that I _do_ know is that it's a Jet Striker of some sort." Michiko paused, and then added "But what the hell are we supposed to do in this situation?"

"I know it's vexing," Minna said "But there's nothing we can do without our Strikers." Minna then realized something. "You don't think they planned on that?" Minna asked.

"It's possible." Michiko said.

"The Neuroi aren't capable of such complicated strategies." Mio replied.

"'Never underestimate your enemies, or you're in for a terrible surprise.'" Michiko stated "That's something Mei drilled into me whenever I first started training to be a Witch."

"Target continues to approach at high speed." Sanya said, reminding them of the current situation. "Three minutes to contact."

"Sanya," Minna said "You'll need to buy us time until backup can arrive. Avoid engaging it to the best of your ability."

"Yes, ma'am." Sanya said, turning off the safety of the rocket launcher she was carrying. "Breaking away from target."

"Watch closely, Yamakawa." Mio said.

"Sanya knows where the Neuroi is?" Michiko asked.

"Yes." Mio confirmed "She can even see things that are beyond the horizon."

Michiko whistled, finding a new respect for Sanya.

"That's why we always leave her in charge of night patrol duty." Minna said.

Sanya then flipped over, aiming her rocket launcher through the clouds and firing two rockets, both of them striking the Neuroi. "It's not attacking back?" Sanya asked in confusion, firing more rockets.

* * *

Back at the base, all the Witches (except Mei) were gathered in the living room, Mio explaining what had happened.

"Then, does that mean no one saw the Neuroi but Sanya this time?" Trude asked.

"That's because it was hidden in the clouds and wouldn't come out." Mio explained.

"But she said it didn't fight back." Erica said "Does that ever happen? Are we sure it was really a Neuroi?" Erica asked.

"A shy Neuroi, perhaps?" Lynne asked.

"It's possible," Michiko said "Mei has seen a couple of Neuroi before that seemed to be shy."

"By the way, where is Mei anyway?" Shirley asked.

"I'm not sure," Michiko replied "all I know is that she's working on a new Jet Striker."

"Sanya, Yamakawa, Eila, you three are assigned to the full-time nighttime team." Minna ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!" the three Witches replied.

* * *

The next morning, the Witches (including Mei) were in the dining room.

"Oh, blueberries! But why so many?" Perrine asked.

"My family sent them. Blueberries are good for your eyes, you know!" Lynne said, carrying a basket of blueberries.

"Down the hatch!" Erica said, digging into her bowl of blueberries.

"I _have_ heard that nighttime pilots in Britannia eat them often." Trude said.

Meanwhile, Mei was eating one whole basket of blueberries after another. When Minna tried to stop her, Mei only grabbed her scythe as a warning.

"Oh, and whatever you do, _don't_ try to separate Mei from her blueberries. It'll be one of the biggest mistakes you'll ever make." Michiko warned.

Lucchini then walked up to her. "Michiko! Shirley! Stick out your tongues!" Lucchini said, sticking out her tongue, which was purple from eating blueberries. Michiko and Shirley also stuck out their tongues, which were also purple. The three blinked, and then started laughing up a storm.

"Honestly! How trite can one get?!" Perrine asked.

"What about _you_?!" Eila asked, pulling back Perrine's lips to reveal her purple teeth.

Mio looked at Perrine, and walked off saying, "All things in moderation."

Perrine was tearing up in pure embarrassment. "H-H-How could you do that, Eila?!" Perrine yelled.

"Hmmm?" Eila said, walking away grinning. "I didn't do anything."

'_Delicious.'_ Sanya thought, eating another spoonful of blueberries.

* * *

"All right," Mio said "Now that breakfast is over, go to sleep to prepare for night duty!"

"Huh?" Michiko asked.

* * *

The three Witches were in Sanya's room, which was completely dark, save for the tiny amount of light that seeped in through the bottom of the door.

"I just woke up, too…" Michiko complained "Why did they have to make the room pitch black?"

"They want us to get used to the dark." Eila answered.

"Sorry they did this to your room, Sanya." Michiko apologized.

Sanya shook her head. "This is how I like my room." Sanya said.

"If you're bored, let's do tarot cards." Eila offered.

"Tarot cards?" Michiko asked.

"Fortunetelling," Eila explained "I can predict the future using magic. I can't see very far into the future, though…" Eila said, laying her tarot cards face-down on the bed. Michiko picked one up. "Let me see…" Eila said, looking at the card before getting a smug grin on her face at which card it was; The Sun card. "Good for you! This means you're going to see the person you miss the most soon." Eila said.

Michiko's eyes widened considerably. _'Queen Yoshika…'_ Michiko thought to herself.

Eila plopped down on the bed, fast asleep. Before falling asleep herself, Michiko noticed a date circled on Sanya's calendar. The date was August 18, which Michiko assumed was Sanya's birthday. Her eyes widened. _'Sanya's birthday is the same day as Mei's is…and the same day that Mei's family was murdered, too.'_ Michiko thought to herself.

* * *

**That evening…**

"It's sundown! Up and at 'em!" Lucchini called into the room.

"It seems kind of dark." Michiko said, sitting down next to Lynne.

Lynne nodded. "They said it's training to get our eyes used to dark environments." Lynne said.

"What's this?" Michiko asked, looking at the liquid in the teacup in front of her.

"What's what?" Mei asked, walking into the kitchen, covered in dirt and engine oil.

"It's marigold herbal tea!" Perrine exclaimed "It's said that this can improve your eyesight, too!"

"Oh," Lynne said "But isn't that an old folk myth?"

"How rude! I'll have you know this was passed down from my grandmother's grandmother's grandmother!" Perrine yelled, growling.

"S-Sorry…" Lynne apologized.

"Michiko! Lynne! Stick out your tongues!" Lucchini said, sticking her tongue out, which was normally colored. Lynne and Michiko did the same, revealing that their tongues were also normally colored. Lucchini's left eye was twitching in annoyance at not finding anything funny. "That's no fun!" Lucchini yelled.

"That joke bombed." Eila said, grinning to herself. Perrine scowled at Eila, but didn't say anything.

Sanya took a sip of the marigold herbal tea. _'Yuck…'_ Sanya thought to herself.

* * *

Eila, Sanya and Michiko were out flying conducting nighttime flight training.

"So this is what it's like to fly at night…" Michiko trailed off, flying in formation with Sanya and Eila.

"This is our mission." Sanya said.

Michiko stared at Sanya, puzzled by what she meant.

* * *

The next morning, all the Witches (including Mei) were in the dining room.

"What's this?" Perrine asked, looking into a teacup.

"Lamprey liver oil!" Michiko said "It's full of vitamins and good for your eyes!"

Erica sniffed it. "It smells kinda fishy." Erica said.

"Well, it _is_ fish oil." Trude said "Flavor doesn't matter as long as it's nutritious." Trude then took a sip, before recoiling in disgust. "…I take back what I just said." Trude admitted.

Perrine was laughing up a storm. "That's Yamakawa for you!" Perrine taunted "What a truly rustic choice!" Perrine continued laughing, unaware of Mei slowly reaching for her scythe.

"Actually, I'm the one who brought it." Mio said.

Perrine quickly shut up, hearing what Mio said. Turning around quickly, Perrine grabbed the cup of fish oil while saying, "I-I love fish oil!" Grabbing the cup, Perrine quickly gulped down its contents, only for her eyes to widen at the horrible taste.

Mei had a sadistic grin on her face, before taking a sip from her own cup. Mei's eyes widened, but not in disgust; to her, fish oil tasted like heaven.

"What is this?!" Lucchini asked in disgust.

"There's engine oil that tastes like this…" Shirley trailed off in thought.

Eila was spitting it out of her mouth, while Sanya just put her cup down.

"They used to force me to drink this when I first joined." Mio admitted, scratching the back of her head sheepishly "I was at a real loss."

"I can completely sympathize…" Perrine grumbled, trying to get the taste out of her mouth.

"Refill, please!" Minna requested with a smile. Erica was slowly backing away from Minna in disgust, but froze at what happened next.

Mei snatched the carton of fish oil from Michiko's hands, and proceeded to chug down the entire carton. All the Witches looked at her in disgust, except Minna, who pouted at the loss of such a good tasting beverage.

"Do you have any more?" Mei asked in a sweet tone, giving Mio the now empty carton.

* * *

"Ugh…" Michiko groaned in pure boredom. "Where are you two from?" Michiko asked.

"I'm from Suomus." Eila answered.

"Orussia." Sanya answered.

"Oh, I know where those are." Michiko said, but then had a thought. "Hey, Sanya…" Michiko said.

"What is it?" Sanya asked.

"What happened to your family?" Michiko asked.

"They fled east when the Neuroi attacked my hometown." Sanya answered "They fled over the Ural Mountains and far past."

"That's a relief." Michiko said.

"How is that a relief?" Eila asked "Weren't you just listening?"

"But that means they can see each other again someday, unlike…Mei…" Michiko trailed off, her eyes narrowing.

"What about Mei?" Sanya asked "Why can't she see her family again?"

"Kinda hard to see you family if they were murdered by a warmonger." Michiko told them.

Eila and Sanya paled.

* * *

That night, Sanya, Eila and Michiko were out flying again.

"Say, listen." Michiko said.

"Huh?" Eila and Sanya asked.

"Today is Mei's birthday!" Michiko exclaimed.

"Why didn't you tell us before?!" Eila asked. "Now we have to plan a party for her!"

"Today is also the day that Mei's family was murdered…" Michiko trailed off, getting a depressed look on her face.

Eila and Sanya winced; they didn't know that Mei's birthday was a grim reminder for her.

"Things have been so hectic that I forgot to mention it." Michiko admitted.

Sanya looked down.

"What's wrong?" Michiko asked.

"Well, you see," Eila replied "Today is also Sanya's..."

At that moment, Sanya's Magic Antenna started to rapidly change color, causing her to gasp.

"What is it?" Eila asked.

The three Witches then heard something akin to the song Sanya usually sings.

"What is that?" Michiko asked.

"It's a song!" Eila answered worriedly.

"How...?" Sanya asked to herself.

* * *

At the base, the same song could also be heard. "Is this a Neuroi's voice?" Minna asked.

"Is it trying to mimic Sanya? Where is she?" Mio asked with concern in her voice.

"She should be conducting nighttime flight training with Yamakawa's group." Minna answered.

"Call them back at once!" Mio ordered.

"We can't! There's no telling where they are in these conditions!" Minna said, worried.

"I see," said Mio "So the enemy's after Sanya!"

* * *

Back with the three Witches, the three were getting worried.

"Is it the enemy, Sanya?" Eila asked.

"Is it a Neuroi? Where is it?" Michiko asked, getting her gun ready.

"Escape, you two!" Sanya suddenly ordered, who then flew straight up.

Suddenly, a red beam pierced through the clouds grazing Sanya's left Striker Unit, forcing her to eject it before it exploded seconds later.

"Sanya!" Eila shouted, flying after Sanya with Michiko following her.

Eila caught Sanya, and then yelled, "You idiot! What are you trying to do all by yourself?"

"I'm the enemy's target!" Sanya replied "There's no question about it. Get away from me... If you stay with me, you'll..."

"Don't be stupid! What are you saying?" Eila stated.

"We can't do that!" Michiko yelled.

"But..." Sanya started, but was surprised when Eila grabbed her rocket launcher.

"What are you going to do?!" Michiko asked while carrying Sanya.

"Give me the enemy's location, Sanya." Eila said "It's all right. I can read the enemy's actions ahead of time, so they won't get me. That thing isn't you. _It_ may be alone, but _you've_ got us!"

Michiko gave Sanya a reassuring grin. Sanya nodded.

"The Neuroi is heading straight this way, on the line connecting Vega and Altair. Approximate distance of 3,200." Sanya said, giving the location of the inbound Neuroi.

"Like this?" Eila asked, positioning the rocket launcher.

"It's speeding up. Aim closer." Sanya corrected "There. Three more seconds."

"Now hit it!" Eila yelled, firing several rockets.

Another red beam was fired at the trio, who dodged it. The rockets all hit their mark as the Neuroi flew beneath them, retaining its cloud cover.

"I missed it?!" Eila asked.

"No, it's slowed down." Sanya said "It's sustained heavy damage. It's coming back!"

"Don't come back!" Eila yelled, firing more rockets at the Neuroi. To the trio's shock, the Neuroi dodged the rockets.

"It dodged!" Michiko warned.

"Damnnit, show yourself!" Eila cursed, firing the last rocket in the launcher. This time, it was a direct hit, and the Neuroi revealed itself, although it was going too fast for the Witches to get a good look at it.

"There it is!" Eila and Michiko said at the same time. The Neuroi was fast approaching. Thinking quickly, Eila discarded the now empty rocket launcher in favor of her machine gun, firing away at the Neuroi.

"Eila, no! Run!" Sanya pleaded.

"There's no time for that now!" Eila replied.

Michiko threw up her shield, still carrying Sanya on her back.

"Good thinking!" Eila complimented.

"It's okay! I know we can win!" Michiko encouraged.

"This is what a team is all about!" Eila finished.

Sanya then grabbed Michiko's machine gun, firing at the Neuroi. With the combined gunfire, the Neuroi's Core was quickly exposed and destroyed, causing the Neuroi to shatter.

"I still hear it... the song..." Eila said.

"How come? Didn't we beat it?!" Michiko asked.

"No, this is my father's piano…" Sanya trailed off, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes as she activated her remaining leg mounted Striker engine and flying up.

"Oh, it's the radio!" Michiko exclaimed in understanding. "It's coming from somewhere else in this sky! It's a miracle!"

"No, maybe not." Eila said.

"Huh?" Michiko asked.

"Today is Sanya's birthday as well." Eila admitted.

"Guess we have to plan a party for both Mei _and_ Sanya now, huh?" Michiko asked, grinning.

"Guess so." Eila replied, returning the grin with one of her own.

* * *

The next day, Mio and Minna were talking privately in Minna's office.

"This latest Neuroi was clearly obsessed with Sanya." Mio said "It even copied her song…"

"It seems certain that we'll need to revise our understanding of the Neuroi." Minna stated.

"How much of this do you think the higher-ups know about?" Mio asked.

"I don't know." Mina admitted "It's possible they're aware of a lot more than we are."

"I guess we'll have to stay sharp, then." Mio cautioned.

The two then looked at a picture that was recently taken, smiling to themselves. On the picture was nine of the eleven Witches with a birthday cake in front of them. There was writing on the picture, which said "Mei turned 15! Sanya is 14!"

"Happy birthday, Mei and Sanya." Mio and Minna said to themselves in unison.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. How many times do I have to squidding say that?!**

**Chapter 8: Nice and Breezy**

Sanya yawned tiredly, returning to base after completing her night patrol.

* * *

On the opposite side of the island, Mei heard Sanya's return by the sound of her Strikers' engines. _'Who would've thought that our birthdays were on the same day…?'_ Mei thought to herself, before resuming her construction of her new Striker  
Unit.

* * *

At the base, all the Witches were sleeping in their respective rooms. That is, except for Lucchini, who was sleeping on a tree branch?

* * *

Then the morning horn sounded, waking all the other Witches while Sanya, not paying attention to where she was going, walked into Eila's room and fell onto the bed, falling asleep as soon as she hit the mattress.

"Huh?!" Eila awoke with a start, only to relax at the sight of Sanya sleeping peacefully on her bed.

* * *

Trude walked into Erica's room, and grumbled to herself at how messy it was. Heck, Erica was even sleeping on the floor!

"Time to get up!" Trude yelled "Wake up, Hartmann!"

"Just a little more..." Erica mumbled sleepily "70 more minutes…"

"That's not 'a little more'!" Trude exclaimed.

"40 more minutes, then…" Erica said.

Mei was walking around the base when she heard Erica's mumbled response. _'What's up with her?'_ Mei thought _'I might as well see what's going on.'_ With that in mind, Mei walked over to Erica's room to see what the fuss was about. Walking in behind Trude without Trude or Erica noticing her presence, Mei listened in.

"For Karlsland soldiers, discipline comes first! And second! And third, and fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth!" Trude scolded.

Cupping her hands around her mouth, Mei shouted out, "What about tenth?!"

Trude and Erica, who was now wide awake, both jumped in fright. Turning around, the two saw Mei grinning like a madwoman, who then bolted out of the room laughing.

"Mei! Get back here!" Trude shouted.

"At least it woke her up!" Mei called over her shoulder before resuming her laughter.

Trude stopped. _'She has a point there…'_ Trude thought to herself.

"It's time for breakfast! Get yourself ready and come to the dining hall!" Trude said to Erica, before walking out of the room.

* * *

Outside, Michiko and Mio were sword training.

"Put your back into it!" Mio instructed "Pull back harder!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Michiko replied.

"Sword and mind as one! This sword is not meant to defeat the enemy!"

"Isn't that because that sword is made out of wood?" Mei asked, walking to the training duo.

"Mei! Just for that, you are going to join in on this training too!" Mio scolded.

Mei shrugged, and started doing the katas with her scythe perfectly, taking Mio by surprise.

Meanwhile, Perrine was watching (more like stalking) the three train.

'_That's too close, Major.'_ Perrine thought to herself. _'That's no good… why am I not the one over there?! Why does she train with that puny raccoon dog every single morning?!'_

"What are you looking at?" Lucchini asked, swinging down and hanging from a tree branch upside down.

Perrine yelped, alerting the three to their presence. "Perrine, Lucchini, you come train too!" Mio ordered.

* * *

"She's training this morning, too." Lynne said as she rode in a jeep with Minna. "Major Sakamoto sure is dedicated!"

"I just hope she isn't being hasty…" Minna said.

"Huh?" Lynne asked.

"Oh, nothing." Minna said "It's a great thing you're here. I wanted to pick up some important deliveries, but no one else was familiar with this area."

"I'm happy to be of use!" Lynne exclaimed.

* * *

Back at the base, Mei had left to go continue her work on her new Striker Unit. In the dining hall were several Witches eating breakfast.

"No one's waking up." Shirley said.

"Everyone's gone soft!" Trude complained.

"Well, there shouldn't be any Neuroi for a while, so I don't see any problem with it." Shirley said.

"You're too optimistic, Liberion. You must always be ready!" Trude scolded.

"This is why Karlslanders have a reputation for being stiffs." Shirley teased, before gasping. "That big one was mine!" Shirley yelled.

"Blitzkrieg tactics!" Trude said.

* * *

Back in Erica's room, Erica was having a difficult time trying to find her pants.

"My pants… are gone…" Erica mumbled "Oh, well." She said before walking out her room.

* * *

In the bath house, Lucchini and Michiko jumped into the warm water.

Meanwhile, Erica walked into the bath house's changing room, before swiping Lucchini's pants and putting them on, before walking out.

Moments later, Lucchini walked out of the bath, drying herself off when she noticed that her pants were gone. "My pants… Let me think…" Lucchini said, before looking to her right and getting a gleam in her eyes upon sighting Perrine's pants. Putting them on, Lucchini then walked out of the changing room just as Perrine walked out of the bath. Perrine then noticed that her pants were gone.

"My pants! They're-?!" Perrine freaked, before calming down. "N-No, it's nothing!" Perrine said, pulling on her stockings.

* * *

Later, several of the Witches were chasing Lucchini.

Mei was walking to the base to grab a few tools when she noticed the chase. _'Looks like fun… but I'll pass. I have more important things to do.'_ With that thought in mind, Mei went about her business.

* * *

At the awards ceremony, Erica just got her award when a breeze swept through, revealing that she was wearing Lucchini's pants.

Lucchini fumed, "_She's_ the one who stole my pants!"

* * *

**I know that this was a short chapter, but I wanted to get this one out of the way. The next chapter will be longer, I promise!**


	9. Chapter 9

**The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. How many times do I have to squidding say that?!**

**Chapter 9: The Eyes in the Sky**

At the base, Michiko was walking into the hangar carrying a tray of sweets.

"Thank you for always being so helpful!" Michiko called, earning the maintenance crew's attention. "I made some sweets. Please have some!" Michiko asked.

The maintenance crew ignored her as they went back to work. "I'm sorry." One of the crew apologized "Commander Minna has forbidden unnecessary conversation with the Witches."

"Huh?" Michiko asked.

* * *

"Say, Lynne." Michiko said as she and Lynne were doing laundry.

"Yes?" Lynne asked.

"I went into the hangar earlier, but…" Michiko said.

* * *

"Oh? So that happened?" Lynne asked after Michiko explained what happened at the hangar.

"Why did Commander Minna make that rule?" Michiko asked.

"What rule?" Mei asked, walking up to them.

(After a brief explanation to Mei)

"I knew she gave the orders, but I never paid it much thought." Lynne admitted.

"There's definitely something strange about those orders!" Michiko said.

"I'll look into them." Mei said, walking off.

But before Mei could turn a corner, Michiko saw a ship pull into the harbor and called out, "Look! It's the _Akagi_!"

"_Akagi_?" Lynne asked.

Mei walked back to the two. "It's the carrier that Michiko and I arrived on." Mei explained.

"I heard they were repairing it. I wonder if it's fixed…" Michiko wondered.

Lucchini and Shirley walked up to them. "There they are! Michiko! Mei!" Lucchini called out.

"Commander Minna wants to see you!" Shirley said.

"I wonder what for…?" Michiko asked, as she Lynne and Mei looked at each other.

* * *

"Pardon our intrusion." Michiko said as she and Mei opened a door and walked into Minna's office.

"Ms. Yamakawa! Mei! I was hoping to see you two!" a man said, who was standing next to Mio and was holding two boxes wrapped in purple cloth.

"This is the captain of the _Akagi_." Minna explained "He insisted on seeing you two."

"I'm Sugita." The captain, now known as Sugita, introduced himself. "I've come to thank you two on behalf of my crew."

"Huh?" Mei and Michiko asked.

"Thanks to you two, the European fleet avoided losing any important ships, and more than anything, you two saved many lives. We are truly grateful to you two." Sugita said gratefully.

"Well, we only did our duty." Mei said.

"But it's true that we might've been wiped out had you two not been there." Mio said, before looking at Mei. "So is your new Striker Unit ready yet?" Mio asked.

"Just finished it this morning." Mei replied.

Sugita was curious, but figured he'd see it in action sooner or later. "After discussing it, me and my crew decided to give you two these." Sugita said, holding out the two wrapped boxes.

"Good for you!" Minna said with a smile as Mei and Michiko accepted the boxes.

"Thank you!" Michiko said, while Mei gave a nod in gratitude.

* * *

"Commander Minna was scary…" Lynne said as she and Michiko walked back to their rooms after the incident with the letter.

"Yeah…" Michiko trailed off.

"I wonder what the letter said…" Lynne wondered.

* * *

Minna was in her room, looking out the window, remembering her past.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Minna's hometown was burning as she flew overhead, tears in her eyes as she flew to a harbor. She began scanning the ground for any signs of her boyfriend, but her heart stopped when she saw his burned corpse lying on the ground._

_**END FLASHBACK**_

"I heard what happened." Mio said as she and Mei walked in.

Minna turned her head. "Mio… Mei…" Minna started, but Mei cut her off.

"I heard you refused to allow Michiko to accept a letter." Mei said before walking out, stopping at the door. "If the only reason you gave those orders was because of something that happened in your past, then you're weaker and even more selfish than Trude was." Mei said before walking out the room.

Minna wanted to yell at Mei, but refrained from doing so; because deep down, she knew that Mei was right.

* * *

"Wow! A Fuso doll!" Michiko exclaimed as she, Lynne and Mei looked at the gift. Mei opened her box to reveal another Fuso doll.

"It's so cute!" Lynne said.

Michiko frowned. "I really want to thank them…" Michiko said.

Upon hearing this, Mei frowned.

* * *

The next day, the Neuroi alarm sounded as all the Witches gathered in the briefing room. "Reports indicate the enemy is on its way here from Gallia." Minna explained.

That was all Mei needed to hear, for as soon as Minna said that, she ran out the room.

"Mei! Where are you going?!" Mio asked.

"It's time I give my new Striker Unit a field test!" Mei called from over her shoulder, before disappearing from sight.

Michiko sighed. "Shirley, if you thought Mei was fast before, just wait until she shows her new Striker's top speed." Michiko said.

How fast can it go?" Shirley asked nervously.

"Mei was very vague about it…" Michiko said "But she said that it was at least Mach 3." Michiko admitted.

"**WHAT?!" **all the other Witches shouted at the top of their lungs. Fortunately, Michiko was able to cover her ears in time.

"How can it go that fast?!" Shirley asked, bewildered.

"Mei is a Striker Unit genius." Michiko explained "She isn't known as 'The Woodland Reaper' for nothing, you know."

Perrine went as pale as a ghost. _'You mean to tell me that I pissed off 'The Woodland Reaper'?!'_ Perrine thought.

Minna's, Trude's and Erica's eyes bugged out. "You mean that Mei's 'The One-Witch Armada'?! Not even the best Witches in the world can't compare to her skill!" Minna, Trude and Erica yelled.

Shirley was hyperventilating. "In Liberion, she's known as 'The One-Engine Wonder'!" Shirley exclaimed.

"Can we get back on track?" Michiko asked, getting annoyed.

"Oh, sure." Mio said casually "I guess the predictions were right for once."

"Yes." Minna said after regaining her composure "It's currently flying at 15,000 feet and heading straight for this base."

"All right. Our routine intercept pattern should suffice." Mio said. "Today's team will consist of Barkhorn and Hartmann at the fore and Perrine and Lynne at the rear. Yamakawa and Mei will be direct support for me and Minna. Shirley, Lucchini, Eila and Sanya will remain at base on standby!"

"Holding down the fort! Holding down the fort!" Lucchini sang.

"Guess I'll tune my unit's settings…" Shirley said in a depressed tone, still feeling jealous that Mei is going to be the first person in history to hit Mach 3.

"All right! Get ready!" Mio ordered.

* * *

The Witches that were flying today all ran to the hangar. Upon arriving, they were surprised at the sight of Mei making adjustments to a Striker Unit that they've never seen before.

"What Striker Unit is that?!" Minna asked.

"This is my new Striker Unit." Mei explained "I call it… the SR-71 Blackbird."

"So what are you doing?" Mio asked "I thought you said it was completed?"

"The Striker Unit itself, yes." Mei said "But I still need to make some final adjustments to the engines. I don't want it blowing up on me while flying supersonic." Mei explained.

"That makes sense." Michiko said, jumping into her Striker Unit, the other Witches following her example.

The Witches (minus Mei) grabbed their weapons and took off after the Neuroi.

"See you later!" Lucchini yelled, waving.

* * *

After flying for ten minutes, Mio saw a glint in the distance. "Enemy sighted!" Mio said.

Minna looked at her. "What type is it?" Minna asked.

Mio lifted her eye patch, and used her Magic Eye to zoom in on the Neuroi. When she zoomed in enough, Mio saw that the Neuroi looked like a cube with square patterns on it, some of which had red circles in them. "300-meter class." Mio confirmed "Our usual formation?" Mio asked.

Minna nodded.

"Alright! Charge!" Mio ordered.

Trude, Erica, Perrine and Lynne dived down on the Neuroi, but then it did something that none of the Witches expected.

It divided.

"What?!" Trude asked, not expecting the Neuroi to do something like that.

"It split into pieces!" Mio exclaimed.

Minna used her Area Analysis magic to determine the new number of enemies. "There's 80 on the right, 100 in the middle, and 30 on the left!" Minna confirmed.

"That's 210 in all." Mio said "This is going to turn into a Medal of Honor spree. So, what's the plan?"

"You look for the Core." Minna ordered.

"Understood." Mio said.

"Barkhorn's team will take the middle!" Minna said.

"Yes, ma'am!" Trude said.

"Perrine's team will take the right!" Minna said.

"Understood!" Perrine said.

"Yamakawa, you'll act as direct support for Major Sakamoto. Listen, your job is to keep the enemy away from her at all costs until she locates the Core!" Minna ordered.

"Understood!" Michiko said.

Minna then dived down to intercept the Neuroi.

* * *

Down below, the fight was turning into what fighter pilots called a fur-ball. The Witches were moving constantly, firing on any Neuroi that they came across. Since there were 210 of them, there were plenty of targets to choose from.

"That's ten for me!" Erica said.

Trude flew next to her so they were back-to back. "I've got twelve!" Trude said. "Looks like this is a perfect chance to really up our kill-scores!"

"Yeah, it's been really slow-going lately!" Erica exclaimed in agreement.

The two then separated as four Neuroi barreled in on them while firing beams.

* * *

Perrine and Lynne hovered above the fur-ball. "Listen, your gun isn't made for rapid firing! Fall back and aim!" Perrine ordered.

"Right!" Lynne said.

"You have my back!" Perrine said as she dived into the fray. Several Neuroi then surrounded her. Perrine grunted. "Using this always messes up my hair for the rest of the day…" Perrine complained while charging up her spell "Tonnerre!" Perrine yelled, firing off her electrical attack spell as it hit the surrounding Neuroi, destroying them. Perrine whipped some of her hair out of her face in an overdramatic way, unaware of a Neuroi sneaking up on her from behind. "For me, this is as easy as-" Perrine was cut off as the Neuroi, which was only two feet behind her and was about to fire a point-blank beam, was destroyed by a cannon shot. Perrine jumped (if that is even possible to do in a Striker Unit) in fright, then turned to see another Neuroi attempting to sneak up on her; but it too was destroyed by a cannon shot. Perrine looked up to see Lynne holding her sniper cannon, the end of the barrel smoking. "N-Not bad." Perrine said.

* * *

Above the fur-ball, Michiko witnessed Perrine's Tonnerre. "Damn. Mei's gonna be jealous when she hears that Perrine has a lightning spell." Michiko said.

"Why is that?" Mio asked, still looking for the one that had the Core in it.

"Mei has always been fascinated by lightning for some unknown reason." Michiko explained "Even she doesn't know why she's fascinated by it."

A few Neuroi then flew up and attempted to fire beams at Mio, but Michiko shot them down before they could fire.

"Keep it up!" Mio encouraged.

* * *

Erica managed to get a good number of Neuroi on her tail and were firing at her. Erica narrowed her eyes, and stopped in midair, allowing the Neuroi to zoom past her. Quickly catching up, Erica destroyed the group with her machine gun. "There's no end to them!" Erica said.

"Which one is the Core?!" Trude asked.

* * *

Have you located the Core?" Minna asked Mio.

Mio shook her head. "No, not yet." Mio admitted.

"Could this be another diversion?!" Minna asked.

"No, I can sense the Core. It's just not inside that swarm." Mio said.

Suddenly, Mei's voice cracked over the radio. "Michiko! Mio! Minna! There's a group diving on you from the sun!" Mei warned.

Michiko's eyes widened, before looking at the sun while shielding her eyes to see several shapes diving on them.

Mio also turned, but had to close her regular eye to avoid being blinded. "Damn! I can't see!" Mio said.

Michiko and Minna started firing at the group, destroying all but one of them. Looking at it, Mio saw that it was the one with the Core.

"Is that it?" Minna asked.

"Yes." Mio answered.

"Attention, all Witches!" Minna said through the intercom "Enemy Core located! We're going to take it down, so keep the others off of us!"

"Understood!" was the response she got.

Minna turned to Mio and Michiko. "Let's go!" Minna ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!" Mio and Michiko responded.

The three then went after the Core.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the fur-ball, the other Witches were taking down Neuroi left and right with Mei's help, even though Mei wasn't in the fur-ball at all. "Mei, where are you, and how are you reading the battlefield so easily?!" Trude asked.

"I'm doing lazy-8's at altitude; also, I've got another ability that I kept as a secret that I'm using to read the battlefield." Mei answered.

"What altitude would that be?" Minna asked over the intercom while chasing the Core, curious about Mei's ability.

"85,000 feet. I'm your eyes in the sky!" Mei said through the radio.

ALL the Witches, including the ones who were at the base on standby, jaw-dropped, too shocked to say anything.

"Hey, Michiko, Mio, Minna. Shouldn't you be chasing the Core?" Mei asked.

This snapped them out of their shock, as the three quickly caught up to the Core, firing at it with their guns.

Mio and Minna ran out of ammo.

"It's all yours, Yamakawa!" Mio said "Don't let it get away!"

"Right!" Michiko said, firing at the Core and managed to destroy it, even though it was flying unpredictably. The Neuroi shattered, and the three Witches put up their shields to protect themselves from the shards. One of these shards pierced through Mio's shield and sliced off a single strand of hair, causing Mio and Minna to gasp.

Lynne quickly flew up to Michiko. "Michiko, you were amazing!" Lynne praised.

Perrine huffed. "It was only a fluke!" Perrine said.

"No, it's quite difficult to hit an erratically moving enemy." Trude said with a smile on her face, proud at how fast Michiko has improved.

"You're great, Yamakawa!" Erica praised.

"You really think so?" Michiko asked, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"I would say so." Mei said from above.

The Witches looked up at Mei, and gasped at what they saw.

Mei had a giant, twenty-pronged green wheel, with each prong having twelve other prongs, that was rotating clockwise hovering a few inches from her back.

"It's my ability, the Magic Radome." Mei explained "It functions just like Sanya's Magic Antenna, but has a much greater range. The drawback is that I can only use it up to one hour per day."

"Wow." Michiko said simply.

* * *

Minna looked at the ground below them, seeing the remains of the harbor from her memories. Minna flew down to a car that she remembers belonged to her boyfriend.

"Minna?" Trude asked, getting the attention of the other Witches.

"Hey, where are you…?" Erica asked as she started to follow, only to be stopped by Mio.

"Wait." Mio said "Let's let her be by herself."

Minna opened the door of the car to see a package for her. Minna grabbed it and walked back to her Striker Unit. "We're returning to base!" Minna ordered.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. How many times do I have to squidding say that?!**

**Chapter 10: Revelations of the True Cause of the War**

At the base, Sanya was just returning from her night patrol, yawning tiredly. Walking into Eila's room, Sanya collapsed onto her bed, falling asleep before she even hit the mattress.

"What the…?" Eila asked, only to see Sanya asleep on her bed. "Sheesh! Only for today, got it?!" Eila complained, covering Sanya in her blanket.

* * *

In Minna's office, Minna heard a knock on her office door. "It's open!" Minna said.

The door opened to reveal Mio and Michiko, who was carrying a box.

"Do you have a moment?" Mio asked as she and Michiko walked into the room, closing the door behind them.

"Sorry for using you like this." Mio apologized to Michiko.

"No, this is no problem at all!" Michiko said.

Mio turned to Minna. "It's data." Mio said "About the Neuroi from the other day."

Mei, who was listening in from the other side of the door, perked up.

"The Neuroi attacked on August 16th and August 18th." Mio explained as she, Minna and Michiko looked over the data "We intercepted mysterious signals at each location each time it appeared. "The frequencies are off, but their waveforms are extremely similar to Sanya's singing."

"I see…" Mei said as she walked into the room.

"Singing?" Michiko asked, remembering the events that happened when she, Eila and Sanya destroyed the Neuroi that copied Sanya's singing.

"It looks like we can assume the Neuroi was copying Sanya's actions." Mio said as Mei started to look over the data.

"Yes…" Mei said, wanting to tell them the whole truth, but knew that the time wasn't right just yet.

"Let's expand the level of analysis even further." Mio said "Things are going to get busy for a while. I'd like to inform Barkhorn and Hartmann now as well. Call them here."

"Barkhorn is off duty today. She left before dawn." Michiko said.

"Where to?" Mio asked.

"London." Mei answered "Her unconscious little sister apparently woke up."

"She tried to leave in a hurry with a Striker Unit, but everyone stopped her!" Michiko said "She's usually such a calm person, too!"

"It's no surprise." Minna said, getting their attention "Her sister is her very reason for fighting. Everyone has the courage to fight because they have something very important to them they want to protect."

"Not everyone has something to protect…" Mei mumbled before leaving the room.

Michiko, Mio and Minna winced.

'_Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words…'_ Minna thought.

* * *

At a hospital in London, Trude barged into one of the rooms with Erica right behind her.

"This is the medical ward! Not so loud!" a nurse scolded.

"Oh, sorry!" Trude apologized while Erica waved to Chris who was in a hospital bed, wide awake. "I rushed straight here, so…" Trude was cut off by Chris's giggling. "Chris…!" Trude said, walking to her little sister before giving her a hug.

"Were you okay without me, Big Sis?" Chris asked.

"Don't be silly!" Trude said quickly "Of course I was okay! Who do you think I am?!"

"She was a complete wreck!" Erica said "The nightmares were making her cry out 'Oh my sister, when will my baby sister ever wake up?'" Erica said, imitating Trude.

"Is that true?" Chris asked.

"You shut your mouth!" Trude yelled at Erica, blushing in embarrassment "This is supposed to be a happy reunion!"

"But it's the truth." Erica said.

"I am a dedicated soldier of Karlsland! I _give_ people nightmares, got it?!" Trude asked her little sister.

"Sis… you seem to be in good spirits!" Chris said.

"Really?" Trude asked.

"That's thanks to Yamakawa." Erica said.

"Who's Yamakawa?" Chris asked.

"Well, she and Mei are our newest recruits to the Strike Witches!"

"She looks a little bit like you." Trude said.

"Like me?!" Chris asked. "Wow! I'd love to meet her!"

"Yeah? Then I'll have her and Mei visit next time." Trude said.

"Do you think she'll be friends with me?" Chris asked.

Trude laughed a little. "She's pretty weird, but she's nice. I'm sure you'll be good friends. Trude assured "Oh, but even though you look alike, you're much prettier of course!"

"Talk about blind sisterly love…" Erica said.

* * *

Walking back out to the car, Trude and Erica found a letter stuffed between the windshield and the wiper.

"So, who left this?" Erica asked, giving the letter to Trude.

"No clue." Trude said, flipping the envelope over to see Minna's name on it.

"Who's it for?" Erica asked, taking the letter. "Minna Dietlinde Wilcke?"

"That's odd…" Trude said.

* * *

"You did great!" Mio praised to Michiko in her room, unaware that Perrine was listening in from the other side of the door. "Yesterday's encounter. That was your first success in battle, was it not?" Mio asked.

"Yes!" Michiko said "But it was only because of all the training you gave me!"

"Well said, Yamakawa!" Mio said, giving off her trademark laughter. "Indeed, you're still a wet-behind-the ears fledgling! Your first success in battle is just the beginning! I'm going to have to crack down on you even harder now! I'll triple your amount of training starting tomorrow!" Mio exclaimed.

At this point, Michiko was sweating up a lake. "I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Michiko said.

"Why? Are you afraid of the training?!" Mio asked/scolded.

"Do you remember what happened at the beach?" Michiko asked, giving Mio a deadpanned look, referring to the time when she and Lynne almost drowned.

Mio started sweating. "Don't remind me." Mio said "I felt like Mei was going to kill me."

'_I-I'm so envious…'_ Perrine thought angrily.

Lynne walked up behind her. "Umm…" Lynne said.

Perrine jumped in fright, and then turned to look at Lynne with a heated glare. Lynne stepped back in fright.

At that point, the door opened, causing Perrine to fall into the open doorway.

"Perrine… Lynne…" Mio said "What are you two doing?"

"Perrine was just…" Lynne started, but was cut off as Perrine gave her a harsh glare.

"Oh, what's wrong, Perrine?" Michiko asked "Your forehead is bright red!" Michiko thought for a few seconds, before her eyes widened and then narrowed. "You were eaves…" Michiko started to accuse, before Mio clapped her hands, getting their attention.

"All right, girls. It's time for training." Mio said.

"Oh, yeah!" Lynne said remembering why she went to Michiko's room in the first place. "That's what I came to get Michiko for!"

"Then get ready at once!" Mio ordered.

* * *

Once the Witches, which consisted of Michiko, Perrine, Shirley, Lucchini and Lynne, were up in the air, they split into two teams; Michiko and Perrine on one team, and Shirley and Lucchini on the other team. Lynne was acting as the referee. Michiko, Perrine, Shirley and Lucchini were armed with paintball guns.

"Yamakawa! Watch your rear!" Perrine warned.

"Gotcha!" Lucchini said. But right before she could fire, Michiko pulled up and disappeared from her sight. "Huh?" Lucchini asked.

Michiko pulled up behind Lucchini, and opened fire with a burst of paintballs, hitting both her and Shirley's Strikers.

"That technique..!" Perrine said, recognizing it as one of Mio's maneuvers. What she didn't know was that Michiko had the heart of a dogfighter and was very observant, allowing her to copy most aerial maneuvers almost perfectly on the first try.

Lynne blew the whistle she was holding. "The Perrine-Yamakawa team wins!" Lynne exclaimed.

"She got me!" Lucchini whined. "That's so weird! I was right behind her, too!"

"You've really matured, Yamakawa!" Shirley praised.

"Do you think so?" Michiko asked.

"Yes, you've definitely improved your skills." Shirley said.

"Yeah! But you wouldn't have been so lucky at high altitude!" Lucchini said.

* * *

Michiko was stepping out of the bathhouse when Perrine confronted her.

"Yamakawa! Where did you learn that major technique?!" Perrine asked.

"I saw Mio pull that maneuver before, so I'd thought that I might try it." Michiko answered.

* * *

Mei was walking down the halls when she heard Perrine say, "I hereby challenge you to a duel!"

Mei sighed, honestly expecting Perrine to say something like that. Mei then walked to Minna's office to report about the duel. But as she reached the door, she heard Minna having a conversation with someone, so she decided to listen in.

* * *

"Sorry, but I went ahead and read what was inside." Trude said. "'Don't get involved. You know too much.'" Trude read the letter again. "What does that mean?" Trude asked.

On the other side of the door, Mei tensed, having an idea what it meant.

"Very intriguing." Erica said.

"You haven't done anything to be ashamed of, do you, Minna?" Mio asked.

"No, I haven't." Minna replied "All we've done is research the Neuroi…"

"Then why were you sent this?!" Trude asked.

"Any idea who sent it?" Erica asked.

"Too many possibilities to even count." Mio answered.

"Yes. I'm sure there are plenty of people in the military who despise us." Minna said.

"But I have a pretty good idea who might resort to something as vulgar as this." Mio said "He probably already knows something that goes to the heart of this war. We must have treaded close to it."

"Who's 'he'?" Trude asked.

"General Trevor Maloney… an Air Force general." Mio answered.

On the other side of the door, Mei froze at the sound of the name of the one who murdered her family.

Just then, Mina, Mio, Trude and Erica felt a huge amount of killer intent as the door slammed open, revealing Mei who had a pissed-off look on her face. "What did you just say?!" Mei asked.

"Do you know that man?" Minna asked.

"Do I know him? Do I KNOW him?!" Mei yelled "HE'S THE BASTARD WHO MURDERED MY FAMILY!"

The four Witches were shocked to the extreme. "He did WHAT?!" Minna asked.

"Where is he?!" Mei asked.

"He should be at his base somewhere in Britannia…" Mio said "The problem is nobody knows where it is."

"DAMNNIT!" Mei cursed.

That was when the Neuroi alarm went off, and Mei felt a familiar presence in the distance.

"Get ALL the Witches airborne!" Mei said "Even Eila and Sanya! Make sure they're all dressed and are all wearing their Strikers! Eila and Sanya can sleep while someone carries them!"

"What's going on?!" Trude asked "Tell us!"

"Everything will be revealed in time, so hurry up already!" Mei yelled, running out to fetch her Striker Unit.

* * *

At the practice field, Perrine and Michiko were having their duel when they heard the Neuroi alarm.

"A Neuroi has appeared?!" Michiko asked.

* * *

Mio, Minna and Mei, who was carrying her Striker Unit, were in the control room as the rest of the Witches got ready as Mei requested. Minna looked at the radar scope.

"Grid East 23. A solo fighter. It's on course for this base." Minna said.

"A solo fighter? Then I know who it is." Mei said, referring to the Neuroi.

"What are you talking about?" Mio asked.

"Just get ready!" Mei said, running out of the room.

* * *

"I'll go on ahead!" Michiko said, and was about to until a voice stopped her.

"Michiko! Perrine! This is Mei! Come back to base and wait for the others!" Mei said.

Michiko relented. "Guess we don't have a choice. Come on, Perrine!" Michiko said.

"R-Right." Perrine said, not wanting to make Mei angry.

* * *

Once the two arrived at the base, they saw all the other Witches getting into their Striker Units, including Eila and Sanya who should still be asleep.

"Why do we have to come…?" Eila asked with Sanya silently agreeing.

"Because I requested it." Mei said, in her SR-71 Blackbird.

"Why…?" Sanya asked.

Mei sighed. "Don't you want to learn how this war truly started?" Mei asked.

All the Witches nodded.

"Then follow me." Mei said as she took off, being careful to not fly faster than them so the other Witches could keep up.

* * *

"Michiko…" Mei said.

"Yes?" Michiko asked.

"The presence I'm feeling… its X-11." Mei said.

Michiko's eyes widened. "Then we finally have a lead?" Michiko asked hopefully.

Yes, we do." Mei replied.

Mio then saw a green flash in the distance. "Target sight-" Mio started, but was cut off by Mei.

"Don't shoot!" Mei said as the green flash flew closer.

"But why?!" Trude asked.

"Just wait and see." Mei said.

At this point, the source of the flash flew right next to Mei and stayed there, revealing it to be a green Neuroi in the shape reminiscent to that of a fighter as big as Shirley's torso. Its wings looked similar to a bat's, and it had two oval-shaped stumps on the front that looked like eyes of some sort.

"X-11, is that you?" Mei asked the Neuroi.

The other Witches (minus Michiko) thought she was crazy, but were shocked at what the Neuroi did next.

It transformed into a Neuroi Witch.

But then the Neuroi did something that nobody expected; it spoke in English.

"Yes, Mei, it's me." X-11 spoke.

"When did you learn English?!" Mei asked.

"During my travels." X-11 said "We're going to the Pure Hive to discuss our next move."

"It's okay." Mei reassured the other Witches "We can trust her. I've known X-11 for several years now."

"Alright, we'll trust you on this." Mio said "But if this is a trap…"

"Yeah, yeah. Come on already!" Mei said, flying to a green Neuroi hive in the distance with the other Witches following her.

* * *

In the hive, the other Witches were looking around when Mei cleared her throat, getting their attention.

"It's time I tell you the true cause of this war." Mei said.

The other Witches were silent, paying full attention to every word; given the current situation, they knew that she didn't have a reason to lie. X-11 left to move the hive near the newly discovered location (thanks to a few ultra-small-type Pure Neuroi (the ones that looked like bugs)).

"It all started when the Neuroi Queen, whose name is Yoshika found Earth during her travels." Mei explained "When she found the Earth, she thought she could make an alliance with the inhabitants. When she came to the surface, she found herself in the vicinity of Fuso, near my hometown to be exact. She stumbled onto my family's clinic, where she found my father… Dr. Ichiro Miyafuji." Mei said, getting wide eyes from the rest of the Witches (minus Michiko, of course; she already knows Mei's history since they are childhood friends).

"You're a Miyafuji?!" Mio asked.

"Yes, my full name is Mei Miyafuji." Mei said. "Now back on track. Yoshika became fast friends with my family, and even helped me to overcome my shyness. My dad was then developing the Striker Unit, but was running into a lot of problems. Yoshika helped solve those problems, and when she learned that the Strikers ran on magical power, she developed a backup system which would use Pure Neuroi Core fragments as an emergency power source in case a Witch ever ran out of magical power while flying." To prove this, Mei opened her Striker's hidden compartments, revealing several Pure Neuroi Core fragments. "In my case, these fragments amplify my magical power; the only reason why I was able to break the sound barrier with the F-86 Sabre was because these fragments amplified my power, and therefore increased my maximum speed. Without them, the Sabre had a default top speed of 1,093km/h." Mei explained.

"So, what's the difference between a Pure Neuroi and a Corrupt Neuroi that you called some of them?" Mio asked.

"There are several differences." Mei explained. "First off, a Pure Neuroi is green, while a Corrupt Neuroi is red. Secondly, a Corrupt Neuroi will attack anything without being provoked, while a Pure Neuroi will only attack if it's attacked first, and even then, it's only in self-defense. Lastly, the Corrupt Neuroi are like warmongers; they love to fight. While the Pure Neuroi are peaceful; they will only fight if they're left with no other choice."

"What's your current Striker's top speed without using those fragments?" Shirley asked.

"Without the fragments? It's Mach 3. When I use the fragments, along with my magical power both at peak capacity, I can go just above Mach 5, which is hypersonic speed." Mei said.

The rest of the Witches went bug-eyed.

"Back on track. During the first month of Yoshika's stay, we had an excellent time. Yoshika learned about Earth's customs, while we learned about the Neuroi race. Maloney must've learned about Yoshika, because during the second month, he murdered my family and kidnapped Yoshika. He would have killed me as well, but Yoshika managed to hide me before she was kidnapped. She also sent out a distress signal to the other Neuroi, telling them what had happened."

"But why would the Pure Neuroi listen to you?" Erica asked.

"See this pendant I'm wearing?" Mei asked, holding up the pendant with the strange symbol on it.

The other Witches nodded.

"Well, it bares the symbol of the Neuroi Queen, and Yoshika only gives these to her most trusted people. Yoshika also taught me the Neuroi's natural language, which you all hear as screeching. Ever since the day of my family's murder, I've been training in the woods nonstop, and broke into a high-security base and stole several Striker Units undetected, using the parts to build the F-86 Sabre. However, ten Corrupt Neuroi sneaked into Fuso undetected when I was only done with the right leg mount, and I was only starting on the left leg mount. Since there were no other Witches, I equipped the only completed leg mount and destroyed them using my magic scythe. That is where my reputation as 'The Woodland Reaper' began." Mei said.

"So then what happened?" Lucchini asked.

"After five years of training, Mio came into the picture looking for potential recruits. She didn't know that I was 'The Woodland Reaper', but she _did_ know that I had a huge magical reserve. So she offered me a position amongst the Witches. I agreed, but only on the condition that Michiko came as well, since I've taken her on as an apprentice. You all know the rest." Mei said.

At this point, X-11 came back. "Mei, the hive is in position to assault the base and rescue Queen Yoshika." X-11 said.

"Excellent. Come on out and regenerate, everyone!" Mei said, opening her Striker's hidden compartments and allowing all the fragments out, each one regenerating into a full-sized Pure Neuroi. The Witches tensed, but then relaxed as Mei and Michiko began petting a few of them.

"All right, listen up!" Mei exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. "I will be heading this rescue operation. If we succeed, then we're guaranteed to be victorious in this war, as most of the hives are pure hives. Only a small percentage of the hives are corrupt. If we successfully rescue the Queen, then all the pure hives will join our cause in destroying the corrupt hives. So who's with me?!"

All the Witches cheered, each of them eager to win the war once and for all, and having new allies as well never hurts.

"All right, all Witches and Pure Neuroi, begin operation!" Mei ordered as they all flew out of the hive to assault the base, all the Pure Neuroi joining in as well.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Neuroi Queen: Where the War Began**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. How many times do I have to squidding say that?!**

**Chapter 11: Rescuing the Queen**

* * *

Mei dived onto the base that held Queen Yoshika, the rest of the Strike Witches and all of the Pure Neuroi joining her. Suddenly, a barrage of red Neuroi beams was fired at them, but was blocked when Michiko erected a huge shield that had a diameter of 528 feet that easily deflected all the beams. Mei was impressed at the sight of Michiko's shield. _'I guess Michiko was holding back.'_ Mei thought, before noticing five dart-shaped craft approaching them at high speed. When the five craft were 1000 feet away, they stopped in midair and transformed into a humanoid form before opening fire with red Neuroi beams. Mei gasped when she saw this. "How the hell did Maloney get his hands on Neuroi technology?!" Mei asked, before shouting orders to the Pure Neuroi and the Witches. "All Witches, open up your Striker's hidden compartments! All Pure Neuroi, condense into fragments and go into the Witches' Striker Units! If those things are equipped with Neuroi beams, then I'm sure they're also equipped with beam shields. The only ones who can destroy them are the Witches, and they're going to need all the power they can get!"

The Witches and Pure Neuroi complied; the Witches opened up the hidden compartments on their Strikers, and the Pure Neuroi condensed themselves into tiny fragments and entered the compartments, which closed after all the Pure Neuroi entered.

Mio, who was on the verge of dropping out of the sky due to a lack of magic, suddenly found it much easier to fly, to the point where she didn't even have to use any magic. This was because the Pure Neuroi sensed Mio's lack of magic, and are now using their energy to power her Striker Unit. Mio grinned, feeling pure joy at being able to truly fly again. "Thank you, Pure Neuroi. I can finally fly and fight again!" Mio exclaimed.

When Michiko's Striker gained the power of the Pure Neuroi, her already huge shield expanded to ten times its size, causing all the Witches to gape; none of them have ever _seen_ such a huge shield before. Michiko's shield now had a diameter of _one mile!_

In short, all of the Witches' powers were amplified tremendously thanks to the Pure Neuroi fragments.

"All Strike Witches, engage the enemy units!" Minna ordered.

The Witches complied, each selecting their own target with two Witches per target. Mei lit up her afterburners and quickly ascended to 85,000 feet, activating her Magic Radome to help coordinate the rescue effort.

But Mei didn't expect to find a high-altitude variant of the machines that the others were fighting that was waiting for her.

"Crap!" Mei cursed. "Everybody, you're on your own! There's a high-altitude variant up here that was waiting for me. I'll get back to you as soon as I destroy it!" she yelled, deactivating her Magic Radome to conserve her magical power. "According to the Pure Neuroi scouts, these things are codenamed 'Warlock', and they use a Corrupt Neuroi fragment for power!"

"Thanks for the info!" Mio said through the intercom.

The Warlock that Mei was up against suddenly transformed into its dart-shaped fighter form and opened fire with its machine guns, which Mei blocked with her shield. The front end suddenly split itself vertically and fired a focused red beam at her. Thinking fast, Mei held her scythe in front of her and twirled it at high speed, which deflected the beam. When the beam stopped firing, Mei boosted towards the Warlock and attempted to slash right through its center. But the Warlock was able to dodge it by going into a sudden dive. Gritting her teeth, Mei dived after it, but was surprised when it suddenly turned around faster than she thought it could and attempted to ram her, which she barely avoided.

* * *

With Trude and Erica, the two of them decided to team up against one of the other Warlock units. The Warlock the two were targeting was aiming for Mio, but Trude got its attention by firing on it, the bullets striking its right arm. The Warlock turned to face them, and fired two beams, which were blocked by the Witches' shields. Erica, hoping to finish it off quickly, dived on it while spinning, using her Strum spell. The Warlock fired at the spinning Erica, but the Strum spell then did something interesting; the magical winds of the spell made the beams curve away from her and go straight up, narrowly missing both Mei and the Warlock she was facing. Trude, seeing her chance, dived on the Warlock while firing her two guns until they were out of ammo, a few of the bullets striking a sweet spot in the arms that caused the Warlock to stop in midair and slowly fall 85 feet before the arms exploded. Trude dived on it, swinging one of her now empty guns like a club, which, to her immense shock, made both her gun and the Warlock _shatter_. She grinned; it seems that the Pure Neuroi fragments also increased her super strength as well.

The duo turned around to look for another target, which apparently found them after Eila and Sanya bugged out of the fight because they were too tired to fight. Eila and Sanya returned to the Pure Hive to get some more sleep.

Trude charged, intending on shattering this Warlock like she did to the last one. But this Warlock then transformed into its fighter mode and boosted away before turning around and firing a concentrated beam at her. Trude, suddenly remembering her fight with the Corrupt Neuroi that had the tri-pronged rotating accelerator, narrowly avoided the beam while looking for Erica, who was diving on the Warlock from above, firing at the arms in an attempt to imitate what Trude did earlier, and succeeded in finding one of the sweet spots, causing the left arm to explode. This gave Trude the opportunity to charge in and swing her remaining gun at the machine, sacrificing it to destroy her second Warlock.

* * *

Perrine, Michiko, and Lynne were teaming up on another Warlock that seemed to want to stay in its fighter form. As a result, Lynne was having a hard time lining up a good shot with her sniper cannon. Perrine opted to lure the Warlock in closer while Michiko covered Lynne. Breaking off from the formation, Perrine took off after the Warlock that was giving them a hard time. The Warlock suddenly charged straight at Lynne and fired a concentrated beam at her, but Michiko was able to erect a shield in time. Giving her thanks, Lynne continued to concentrate in lining up a shot on the elusive machine. Perrine was quickly getting angry at the Warlock and casted off her Tonnerre lightning spell, managing to stun it for a few seconds. That was all the time Lynne needed to line up a shot with her cannon and fire three successive rounds, all of which hit their target. This forced the Warlock to transform into its robot mode, while Michiko fired at the reported "sweet spots" on the arms. She expended half of her ammo before she was able to find it, after which she reported the exact location of the "sweet spot" and allowed Lynne to fire a cannon shot at the spot on the other arm, taking it out in one hit. Perrine then fired a super-charged Tonnerre lightning spell at the disabled Warlock, causing it to explode.

* * *

Shirley and Lucchini were teaming up against another Warlock that was firing wildly at the two of them. The two were doing their best to avoid the dual beam shots that the machine was firing at them, but the Warlock suddenly stopped firing and spread out its arms, the red firing ports for the beams starting to glow brightly. This confused the two Witches, but their eyes widened in pure shock when the machine suddenly fired _12 beams_ from each firing port, for a total of _24 beams!_ Lynne, seeing their plight, fired a shot at the back of the unit since she couldn't get a clear shot of the "sweet spot", and got the Warlock's attention. Shirley, capitalizing on the distraction, grabbed Lucchini by the arms and threw her at the machine, while said thrown girl erected a set of five shields of different sizes, similar to that of a drill. Boosting forward, Lucchini plowed straight through the Warlock, causing it to explode as she boosted away from it.

* * *

Mio and Minna were teaming up against the last Warlock unit. Mio was having a blast at being able to fly and fight again, and was fighting with gutso. Minna was using her Area Analysis to determine where the Warlock would go next based on its movements, and was having a difficult time doing so. Mio, wanting to buy Minna some more time, drew her sword and charged in on the Warlock right when it was transforming into its robot mode, but had to perform a barrel roll to avoid two beams fired at her. She may be able to fly again, but that didn't mean her shield would be able to block anything, and she wasn't taking any chances. Managing to close in on the machine, Mio sliced off the hood on the head to reveal a capsule that had a Corrupt Neuroi Core in it, and quickly boosted away, allowing Minna to finish it off by firing her machine gun into it, causing the Warlock to explode.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mei was able to lure her Warlock down from eighty five thousand feet to fifteen thousand feet, allowing the rest of the Witches to engage it as well. With the combined effort of ten Witches, it didn't take very long to destroy the last Warlock.

* * *

After the last Warlock was destroyed, Mei and the rest of the Strike Witches charged the base. Mei gathered energy into her scythe as it glowed.

"Reppuzan!" Mei shouted as she unleashed the blade spell at the base, destroying a portion of it and revealing a hatch in the floor of that room. "That hatch must have been hidden before." She said.

"Think we'll find Yoshika in there?" Michiko asked.

"Most likely." Mei responded as she flew towards the hatch. Opening it, she found that there was a tunnel just big enough to fly through. "In here!" she called as she flew into the tunnel, while the rest of the Witches followed one at a time.

* * *

At the end of the tunnel, the Strike Witches found Maloney looking at a few sheets of paper. Mei decided to hide in the shadows for the moment. Looking up, Maloney's eyes widened.

"H-How did you get in here?!" Maloney asked.

"It wasn't easy." Mina replied. "We had to destroy six of your Warlock units first."

Maloney's eyes widened to impossible proportions. "IMPOSSIBLE! The Warlock is invincible!" Maloney shouted.

"**Want to bet, Trevor Maloney?"** Stepping out of the shadows was Aki, who switched places with Mei.

"Who are you?!" Maloney asked/yelled.

"**Me?"** Aki asked, and then chuckled darkly. **"I am the one who you failed to kill. My name is Aki, the darker personality of Mei Miyafuji!"**

Maloney's eyes widened again. "That's not possible! I made sure to kill every last one of you all those years ago!" he yelled, apparently forgetting that the rest of the Strike Witches were there as well.

"So, _that's_ what happened to Ichiro…" Mio growled.

"**It's time for retribution."** Aki said, wielding her now pitch-black scythe. Before Maloney could react, Aki charged at him and separated his head from his body.

The rest of the Witches normally would have found this horrifying, but having known Mei for so long, as well as learning the truth, they felt nothing but contempt for Maloney.

Aki's eyes and scythe then turned back to their normal green color, letting them know that Mei was once again back in control. She then turned to look at a spot on the wall, and swinging her scythe, revealed another secret door. "Let's go." She said, slowly flying through the door, with the other Witches following.

* * *

On the other side of the door was an observation room, overlooking what looked to be a torture chamber. Seeing someone strapped to a wall in the chamber, Mei's and Michiko's eyes widened as they recognized the individual strapped to the wall painfully, and had wires inserted throughout her body that suddenly sent out a painful electric shock.

"YOSHIKA!" Mei and Michiko both shouted, breaking the glass separating the two rooms as Mei used her scythe to slice the wires. Then, in an incredible display of strength, the two of them proceeded to _rip out_ the restraints that were made of solid steel.

Catching her as she fell free from the restraints, Mei looked at Yoshika with tears spilling from her eyes. "Yoshika…" Mei spoke softly.

Yoshika looked up and opened her hazel eyes weakly. "…M…Mei…? I…Is that…you…?" Yoshika asked weakly, before passing out.

Michiko looked at Mei. "We need to get her to the Pure Hive!" she said.

Mei nodded, and looked at the rest of the Witches. "Let's go."

The other Witches nodded, and the group left the base to go back to the Pure Hive.


End file.
